


Draco's Life with a bit more Hermione in it

by thornconnelly



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Draco Malfoy, Bisexual Harry Potter, Blink and You'll Miss the Drarry, Canonical Character Death, Death Eaters, Demisexual Hermione Granger, Domestic Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter Friendship, Dumbledore is less vague, Dumbledore is vaguely helpful, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Epistolary, F/M, Getting Together, Good Draco Malfoy, I mean, Light Angst, Minor Harry Potter/Cedric Diggory - Freeform, Minor Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black Lives, Slow Build, Slow Burn, They're 11 when the fic starts, eventually they get together, so obviously it's going to take a bit of time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 65,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27198017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thornconnelly/pseuds/thornconnelly
Summary: A chance encounter in Diagon Alley ends up leading to a forbidden friendship that just might shape the very history of the wizarding world...*Hermione gave a short laugh, “Honestly, I’m glad the Sorting Hat will make the decision for us. I’m not sure I feel qualified to make a decision right now that will decide my future.”Draco looked at her oddly for a moment, “My whole family has been in Slytherin. They’re expecting me to be Slytherin too.”“But what do you want?”Draco didn’t respond for a long moment, before shrugging, “I guess what you said is right. I don’t feel like I can make that decision now. I might as well be in the same house as my parents.”
Relationships: Harry Potter/Fred Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 30
Kudos: 172





	1. Summer before Sorcerer's Stone (Year 1)

Hermione stood peering in the different animal cages. The Hogwarts letter was in her pocket, but she had read it so many times that she had memorized it. She could choose a cat, frog, or owl. She felt vaguely repelled by the idea of having a pet frog, and as useful as an owl could be, she knew that Hogwarts provided owls for the students, so she really didn’t need her own. And none of the cats here had particularly appealed to her. She shrugged as she tucked a curl behind her ear and decided that she would check back next year to see if there were any more appealing cats. 

She turned and almost bumped into a blond-haired boy. “Oh, sorry. Excuse me.”

The boy grinned slightly at her, “You’re not getting anything either?”

Hermione shook her head, “Maybe next year?”

“You’re a first year too, right?”

“Yes, and you too?” Hermione felt her nerves give a thrill. She hadn’t actually spoken to any Hogwarts students yet. She had seen a few kids around her age and older walking around Diagon Alley in the past few days, but she hadn’t actually spoken to anybody yet. 

The boy looked around, “Yea. My name is Draco Malfoy. What’s yours?”

“Hermione Granger.”

“What house are you hoping to be sorted into?”

Hermione paused to consider before responding, “Probably Ravenclaw. But I think that Slytherin seems to have its benefits as well. And Gryffindor seems to be very popular, and to have turned out very many successful wizards and witches.” Hermione gave a short laugh, “Honestly, I’m glad the Sorting Hat will make the decision for us. I’m not sure I feel qualified to make a decision right now that will decide my future.”

Draco looked at her oddly for a moment, “My whole family has been in Slytherin. They’re expecting me to be Slytherin too.”

“But what do you want?”

Draco didn’t respond for a long moment, before shrugging, “I guess what you said is right. I don’t feel like I can make that decision now. I might as well be in the same house as my parents.” After a pause, Draco asked, “What house were your parents in?”

“They didn’t go to Hogwarts,” Hermione answered, hoping that wouldn’t matter. She had read about how some wizarding families had long family lines that all attended wizarding schools, but she also knew that it wasn’t uncommon for a witch or wizard to be born from a muggle family, like her. 

Draco shrugged, “My dad almost went to Durmstrang. And he thought about sending me there too. He doesn’t like Dumbledore very much. But my mother convinced him that Hogwarts is just the best.”

“Yes, everything I’ve read says that Hogwarts truly is the best school to go to.” Hermione made a mental note to herself to research Durmstrang more. She remembered seeing the name somewhere, but she couldn’t immediately recall enough information about it.

A middle aged witch bustled over towards them, “Can I help either of you?”

“No thank you,” Hermione responded immediately.

“Are you sure?” The witch looked suspiciously between the two of them. 

“No, but we’ll come back next year to look,” Draco responded smoothly, and gently began pushing Hermione towards the exit. 

Once they stepped onto the street, they both giggled. “Hey, you want some ice cream?” Draco asked, pointing at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor directly across from them. 

“Sure,” Hermione grinned. “Where are your parents?”

Draco opened the door to the ice cream parlor and held it open for Hermione, “My dad is working. And my mom is buying all of my books. She said she would meet me at Madam Malkin’s in about half an hour. Where are your parents?”

“They’re resting. We’re staying at the Leaky Cauldron for a week. I wanted to spend a few days here just to make sure I got everything I needed, and my parents didn’t want to travel back and forth. They both took a vacation from work for a few days and we’ve just been… spending time together before I leave. I’ve never gone away for school… so I think we’re all a little nervous.”

Draco nodded, “I’ve never gone away either. I mean, I always knew this was coming, but…” Draco swallowed audibly, “It’s going to be hard being away for months at a time.”

“Yea,” Hermione agreed. “I’m going to miss my parents a lot.”

When it was their turn to order, Hermione got a cone with Earl Grey and Lavender ice cream and Draco got Salted Caramel Blondie. 

“Did you order that because it matches your hair?” Hermione asked with a grin as she paid for her ice cream. She still felt a thrill each time she handled the new wizarding money. She had joked with her parents that it felt like pirate money, since it was all coins. 

Draco blushed a deep red, “No,” he replied defensively. “I just like it.”

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said. “I was just joking.”

Draco shook his head, “It’s okay. I just…”

“Draco?” A stern looking blond woman was walking towards them, carrying several bags.

“Mother!” Draco jumped up, “I’m not late, am I? I thought I still had a few minutes before I needed to be in Madam Malkin’s.”

“No, don’t worry dear. You’re not late.” The woman looked down her nose at Hermione, who had risen to her feet after Draco jumped up. “Who is your new friend?”

“Mother, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is my mother.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Malfoy,” Hermione said, hoping that they couldn’t hear the tremor in her voice. This woman looked intense, and not at all happy to meet Hermione. 

“Granger. Are you related to Hector Dagworth-Granger?” The woman asked with an arch tone.

“Not that I know of,” Hermione answered. 

“Hmmm. And your father? What does he do?”

Hermione felt herself freeze. She felt like this was a trap, but she wasn’t sure how. “He’s a dentist,” Hermione answered softly.

This time Mrs. Malfoy’s “hmmm” contained a much harsher tone. “Draco, it is time for us to go to Madam Malkin’s. Ms. Granger, I’m sure it was a pleasure to meet you. Draco, come on.”

Draco’s eyes darted between his mother and Hermione, but he followed obediently when she began walking away. He turned backwards and mouthed “sorry” as he trotted behind his mother. 

As they walked away, Hermione heard Mrs. Malfoy’s words drifting back to her, “I cannot believe you were just sitting out in public talking to a mudblood.”

“Mother, I didn’t realize…” Draco protested as they entered Madam Malkin’s shop. 

Hermione stared at the door for another moment feeling the pain sink deep into her bones. She hadn’t encountered the word “mudblood” in her readings yet, but the poison that dripped from the woman’s voice as she spoke the word effectively conveyed its general meaning.

*

“I cannot believe you were just sitting out in public talking to a mudblood.” His mother didn’t even look at him. He knew what fire would be blazing behind her eyes. She didn’t need to look at him. 

“Mother, I didn’t realize. She knew all about the houses and we were talking about Hogwarts. I thought she was just from… one of those wizarding families we don’t talk to much.”

“You thought she was a blood-traitor? How is that better?”

“I don’t know… I just thought… she seemed nice.”

His mother stopped with her hand on the door to the shop and looked down at him for the first time. “Draco listen to me very carefully. You know all about mudbloods and blood-traitors. You know how important it is for you to build friendships and contacts with important, pureblood wizarding families. I understand that you are still young, and that ice cream can seem harmless. But what if that girl thinks that you’re friends now? What if she wants to socialize at Hogwarts? Something that you think is harmless might have very severe effects in the future. You must be more careful when you select who to interact with.”

“Yes mother,” Draco replied fervently. He felt really bad that he hadn’t gotten a chance to say goodbye to Hermione since she had seemed really nice, but if he wasn’t supposed to know her in the first place, it couldn’t really matter, right? They wouldn’t be friends at Hogwarts. And there was no way she would be sorted into Slytherin if she was a mudblood. They would probably never interact in their seven years there. 

She nodded and opened the door. Madam Malkin ushered them in, even though they were early for their appointment. There were definitely benefits to being a Malfoy. He grinned at the assistant as she started fitting him for his new robes. He didn’t need new ones. He had plenty at home and most of them were black. Their house elf had offered to make the slight alterations necessary to turn them into the uniform school robes. Draco hadn’t been surprised when his father literally kicked the elf out of the room for his insolence. Of course Draco would be getting new robes. Who ever heard of a Malfoy going to Hogwarts wearing old, altered robes? 

A black-haired boy stepped up on the pedestal next to Draco so he could be measured for robes too. Madam Malkin and her assistant both seemed flustered, but he ignored them. 

Draco eyed the boy for a few moments before deciding to talk to him. He looked young, younger than Draco even, but since he was being fitted for the same Hogwarts uniform, he must be a first year. 

After talking to him for just a few minutes, Draco quickly realized that this kid must be a muggle born. He responded to everything with noncommittal responses, and he seemed to be completely clueless about everything.

Draco scoffed. At least Hermione had done her homework before daring to come around real wizards. She might be a mudblood, but at least she was a smart one. That had to count for something, right?

Draco made sure to drop as many hints as he could about how important and powerful he and his family were and to include as much scorn into his voice as possible. His mother wouldn’t be able to accuse him of being too friendly with this mudblood.


	2. Sorcerer's Stone (Year 1)

Draco watched Hermione. He couldn’t help it. She could not have known anything about the wizarding world when that owl delivered the letter from Hogwarts. She must have been doing nonstop researching and reading ever since that moment. How else could she explain the wealth of knowledge that she had on seemingly every topic?

All of his tutors had assured his parents that he was more than prepared for Hogwarts, that he would excel above his peers. And he did. For the most part. Except for Hermione. 

But she still didn’t seem happy. 

Satisfied and interested and engaged. 

But not happy. 

He had rarely seen her talking to any of her Gryffindor classmates. He had even heard one of them call her a “know-it-all.” As if that was an insult. But, Draco considered, if she lorded it over their heads and made them feel insignificant, then it would make sense that they would avoid her. 

Now see, Crabbe and Goyle were both dumb as bricks, but he had known them since he was a child. He knew how to flatter their egos so that they would do anything he said. And having people there to support you was important. That’s how you knew you had power and influence. And you needed those things to succeed in life. That’s what Hermione should be doing. She was obviously smart enough. She should figure out how to make the Gryffindors be friends with her.

But that was one of the differences between Slytherins and Gryffindors, he supposed. She was smart, yes, but not cunning enough to realize that she would need some people by her side eventually. Even if they weren’t true friends. She needed people. She probably saw herself as too noble to manipulate people or something foolish like that. 

But if she was really being so foolish, why did Draco feel bad? And why was he so drawn to watching her? She was truly impressive, and the fool Gryffindors didn’t seem to appreciate her at all.

One day after potions, Draco realized that he was following Hermione as she walked alone through the hallways. He bumped into Crabbe and said, “Why don’t you try to get some food out of the house elves? I bet they have some great snacks.”

Crabbe and Goyle’s eyes both lit up and then rushed off towards the Dining Hall. 

Draco followed Hermione as she continued walking. He still wasn’t quite sure where the Gryffindor common room was, but he was pretty sure that it wasn’t this close to the library. She must be heading there. He made sure to keep far enough back that she wouldn’t realize she was being followed. 

She did indeed go to the library, and as soon as she sat down at an empty table, she pulled a large book out of her bag and began reading. He paused for a second before sitting down across from her at the table. 

Hermione’s eyes widened as she realized who was sitting across from her, and then her brow immediately furrowed. “What do you want?”

Draco shrugged. “How come you’re alone?”

Hermione’s eyebrows managed to scrunch up even further. “I don’t see how that is any of your business.”

“Do you want to study together?”

“What? Why would I want to study--what are you getting at?” 

Draco shrugged again and felt ridiculous for repeating the gesture. What was he getting at? “I just figured… you might want someone to study with. Or you might be lonely. I overheard some of the Gryffindors saying some… well honestly, I was surprised at how rude they were being, you know, since they’re supposed to be all noble and the like.”

Hermione let out the slightest of gasps that Draco was sure he only heard because of the otherwise absolute silence in the library. “How dare you. Just because… what gives you the right to come here like this? To make me feel even worse?”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do!” Draco immediately ducked out of instinct as the librarian appeared and shushed at him. “I swear. I’m not trying to make you feel worse.” Draco looked around unnecessarily, since he knew there was nobody near them. “Look, I’m sorry about my mom. I know she can be… unpleasant sometimes, but she really isn’t all that bad.” Draco’s voice dropped even lower, “I miss her. And I’m sure you miss your parents too.”

Hermione was staring at him as if he had started speaking another language. “And so you just decided to follow me to the library and bring this up… after ignoring me for weeks? And after making fun of and bullying every Gryffindor you could at any available opportunity?”

“What? You mean like with Longbottom? Come on, Hermione, he is just so hapless.”

“That makes it even worse!” The librarian appeared again to shush them and Hermione blushed that she was the one being scolded this time. 

“Well, as much as you always look lonely, it’s not like you’re ever really alone. Was I just supposed to walk up to you in the Dining Hall?”

“You could have,” Hermione replied indignantly. 

Now it was Draco’s turn to stare at her as if she had begun speaking another language. “But then everyone would have seen me!”

“And that would have been such a bad thing?” Hermione leaned forward as she whispered hoarsely.

“Of course!” Draco replied, leaning forward as well. 

“Why?”

“Because you’re a… well, your family isn’t… you’re not pureblood.”

“And does that really matter?”

Draco sat back and just stared at her for a moment, before leaning back in. “Of course it matters. Purebloods are supposed to spend time with other purebloods. Blood traitors and mu-- people from muggle families can spend time together, but that’s still… Everyone knows that purebloods aren’t supposed to spend time with them!”

“But why?” Hermione’s eye had taken on a fierceness that Draco hadn’t seen before. He shivered slightly. Then he shrugged slightly, his brow furrowing. Hermioned leaned even closer to him and whispered sharply. “I think that your parents are just prejudiced against people like me! I think that you’ve just never questioned what they’ve said, so you’ve never had an independent thought for yourself, and that’s why you can’t explain it!”

Draco spluttered for a moment before standing up and planting his hands on the table so he loomed over Hermione. “I don’t have to sit here and take this! I was trying to do something nice! This is why I don’t do nice things!”

“Well,” Hermione hissed, standing up so she was almost the same height as Draco, “the next time you try to do something nice, maybe don’t remind someone that everyone hates them to try to make them grateful that you deigned to spend time with them! And don’t remind them that you’re embarrassed to be seen with them!”

“Fine,” Draco said loudly. “I’m just leaving now,” he said to the librarian as she came storming over to them. 

“You too, miss!” She said, waving at Hermione harshly. 

Hermione huffed angrily and gathered all of her books into her arms and stormed after Draco. Once they got into the hallway he turned and waited for the door to close. 

“Just so you know, I didn’t mean to make you angry,” he said with a scowl. “I’m not used to people being so… ready to be offended.” Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Draco held his hands up. “Wait. No. See? I’m even bad at apologizing.” He rubbed at his forehead in frustration. He sighed and dropped his hands, surprised to see Hermione just watching him. “I was really trying to be nice before, when I offered to study with you.”

“You don’t seem to need help studying,” Hermione said. She still sounded angry, but her voice wasn’t as harsh as it had been in the library. 

Draco shrugged. “I had tutors at home who would visit every day. I can do all the work they’ve assigned so far, but I know it’s just going to get harder. Plus, Crabbe and Goyle are great company… but they are just distractions while I’m actually trying to work.”

“You really just want to… study together?”

Draco shrugged and nodded together. “I’m not offering like… eternal friendship or whatever. I just think you’d be a good study partner.”

Hermione pursed her lips and nodded. “Well. I guess you’re not wrong. You can meet me here tomorrow night an hour after dinner.”

Draco nodded and turned to walk towards the dungeons. “See you then, Granger.”


	3. Summer between Years 1 and 2

_Granger,_

_If even half the rumors are true, then you’re a lot more Gryffindor that I realized. Please write back and give me all the details. I’m dying to know. Did you really break into the Forbidden Corridor? And go through a series of deadly obstacles? And fight the Dark Lord??? How is that even possible?_

_Malfoy_

_P.S. Are you three really in the hospital wing? Are you alright? Part of me wants to gloat that Potter got in trouble for breaking the rules, but if any of you are actually injured then that takes all of the fun out of it._

*

_Malfoy,_

_How come it sounds like you’re insulting me when you say I’m ‘more Gryffindor than you realized’?_

_If you’ve heard the rumors, then people are obviously talking more than they should. We could have gotten in a lot of trouble, and I’m eternally grateful to Professor Dumbledore for weighing the validity and importance of our mission when deciding not to punish us._

_Luckily, we’re all fine. But you still shouldn’t gloat! It’s not a good look on you._

_I’d love to sit down with you and talk about the potions obstacle that Professor Snape created though. It was an impressive feat of brewing, but the challenge was really that it required you to think logically. I think you would have excelled at it too._

_But, Draco, I want to ask you something, since you were raised in the Wizarding world. Harry said that this whole thing was a plot by Voldemort to try to get power back. But… based on all of the research I’ve done… I had thought he was dead. But Harry said that Professor Dumbledore implied that Voldemort was never dead, and that him trying to come back is a very real possibility. I’m struggling to word my question because it seems so overwhelming. When I asked Ron, he got all silent and didn’t want to talk about it, other than saying, “It’d be bad.”_

_Can you help me understand? I know you weren’t alive for it anymore than I was, but what have you heard from your family?_

_Hermione_

_*_

_Granger,_

_I’m glad you’re all fine… except where does Dumbledore get off giving Harry like a million points?! He broke the rules!? That’s now how it’s supposed to work. I know he’s your friend and all, but I think I’m going to be angry at him for a while for that._

_I mean, anyway, congratulations on winning the House Cup._

_Even though Potter’s a cheat._

_Can you tell me more about the logic-potions thing? Do you remember how it was worded? I’ve always been good at puzzles, so I think I would have enjoyed it. Hey, maybe if I were there, I’d have been able to help you all get through without getting hurt, since I can fly and I’ve been playing wizarding chess since I was in diapers. Imagine that._

_And… I wouldn’t say this out loud at home, but I’m going to hope for your sake, at least, that the Dark Lord isn’t returning. A lot of old pureblood families, mine included, benefitted from the situation with the Dark Lord, even if they didn’t outwardly support him. My family might have benefitted, but I’ve heard that a lot of muggle-borns and people who actively opposed the Dark Lord were killed._

_But he’s been gone for years now, so I don’t think it’s something we need to worry about too much._

_Malfoy_

_P.S. Do you have an owl? Now that you’re home, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to respond, so I instructed my owl to wait until you write a response. He’s very smart and he can mostly take care of himself, so if you need some extra time, just let him know and he’ll hunt for food and come back. I know there are owl-stations in some of the wizarding communities… but I honestly don’t know where you live or how near you are to one. I’ve never used one before either so I can’t even help you figure it out._

_*_

_Draco,_

_Was that… concern I noticed in your last letter? Don’t worry… your secret is safe with me. I’ll take what you said into account. I’ve also gotten several books to read over the summer to help me research. And thank you for lending me the use of your owl for a response letter. I don’t have my own owl… although I do see the benefit of having one now. Maybe I’ll buy one the next time I’m in Diagon Alley._

_To think… the first time we ever talked was when we both decided not to buy an animal..._

_I’ve written down the words of the riddle as closely as I can remember them. I also sketched illustrations of the different potions and wrote a few details about them. Please don’t make fun of my drawing skills._

_See if you can figure out the solution! Send me your guess and your thought process and I’ll let you know if you’re right._

_H. G._

_P.S. Are you sure you won’t get in trouble for writing letters while you’re at home?_

_*_

_Granger,_

_My parents don’t read my correspondences, so they won’t know that it’s you I’m writing to. And stop making that face - you know the one. I know that there’s nothing wrong or shameful about talking with you, but they don’t see it that way. They don’t realize that you’re the brightest witch in our year or that being your friend is also beneficial to me since you push me to work harder than the other Slytherin do._

_And you’re making that face again._

_It’s because I’m a git who’s terrible at expressing himself._

_See how much I’m growing? I can recognize when I’m the one who’s being a git now._

_I don’t just talk with you because it benefits me. I hope that’s obvious by now._

_But they wouldn’t see it that way, no matter how I’d explain it. Maybe… maybe someday they’ll realize that muggle-borns are just as capable as pure-bloods, but that day definitely isn’t today._

_I attached all of my notes on the potions riddle. You’re right - it’s fascinating! I believe that I figured it out, but I also included my thought process so you can tell me where I went wrong, if I did. Thank you for sharing it with me! That riddle was more challenging than all of the work my tutors have given me so far this summer._

_And what books are you reading for your research? I’m so bored at home that I might try to read them too so that we have something to discuss. Or maybe if I can’t get them, I can find others in our personal library that would provide supplemental research? And then we can combine our information?_

_Malfoy_

*

_Draco,_

_I’ve attached a list with the books I’ve read so far this summer (and a few notes of my thoughts on each) as well as the other books that I’m reading too._

_By the way, have you ever read any muggle books? I know it doesn’t seem up your alley exactly… but I do find some of them quite relaxing._

_I’m going to France with my parents for most of August and I don’t think your owl would fly that far… would he? She? I don’t know how owl pronouns work. Anyway, I guess we’ll talk when I get back._

_Hermione_

_*_

Hermione smiled as she stepped onto Diagon Alley. Her parents had both taken a few days off from work so they could spend it with her before she had to leave for Hogwarts. She’d been going through her shopping list slowly, and today she wanted to go to visit Magical Menagerie and she might stop in Flourish and Blotts again, even though she had been visiting it each day so far this week. 

She stumbled slightly as someone bumped into her and grabbed her elbow. 

“Draco? What’s wrong?” 

“Shhh!” He glanced around wildly before pressing a paper into her hand. “Take this. Don’t send me an owl. I let slip something positive about muggle-borns and now my mother has been getting suspicious about who I’ve been writing. I’ll see you in Hogwarts and we can talk then.”

He rushed away as soon as he finished speaking and left Hermione looking down at the scrap of parchment in her hand. 

_I overheard my father bragging to a few_ _old friends_ _about a diary that has been in his possession for almost as long as we’ve been alive. It’s apparently a very important diary that used to belong to a person who was very important in certain circles. The fact that my father was entrusted with this diary shows that he must have been valued and trusted within those circles. I know that Weasley is going to be tickled pink to have his suspicions confirmed._

_Now I don’t know any particulars, but while bragging about this, my father also mentioned that he has it on good authority that the Chamber of Secrets will open at Hogwarts this year._

_I don’t have much time before we leave, but I trust you to research what that means._

She read through it quickly before looking around in alarm. She stuffed it into her pocket and turned around so she could go to the Owl Post so she could send a letter to Ron and Harry. She winced at the thought. Harry hadn’t responded to any of their owls so far this summer… but she was going to send it anyway.


	4. Part 1: Chamber of Secrets (Year 2)

“What do you mean you saw Draco before?” Hermione asked sharply. 

“I mean,” Harry said as he folded his arms over his chest, “when I used the Floo Powder, I did something wrong and ended up, like, a few blocks away, in this store that sold like, dark magic stuff. Just as I was about to try to leave, Draco and his dad walked in.”

“How do you know it sold dark magic things?” Ron asked. “It’s not like you’ve ever seen them before.”

Harry just stared at Ron for a moment before responding, “There was a severed human hand and I’m pretty sure there were a few shrunken elf heads, and a whole bunch of jewelry that just… gave me a bad feeling.”

“Did you tell him about Draco’s letter?” Hermione asked Ron. 

“What letter?”

“We didn’t get the chance yet,” Ron said defensively. 

“Didn’t get the chance?” Hermione whisper-shouted. “Ron, this is super important!”

“I still don’t know why you trust him,” Ron whispered angrily. “He might be lying about the Chamber of Secrets. He might just be trying to scare you.”

“Ron, he wouldn’t do that,” Hermione said quietly. “I know he’s kind of a git sometimes… but he’s a good person underneath, I promise.”

Hermione pulled the note out of her pocket and handed it to Harry, “Here. Read it.”

He took it and scanned through the letter before glancing up at her. “Well, even if I don’t trust him the same way you do, he definitely seems worried about it. What is the Chamber of Secrets?”

The three of them sat down as Hermione recapped everything she had learned, “But I still have several more books to read through before we go back.”

“Of course you do,” Harry said with a grin. “Do you want to give us something to do?”

She nodded. “I’ve been taking notes on everything I’ve read. I’d like you two to go over my notes to double check for any contradictions or any connections that I might have missed. There’s a lot of information about the Chamber of Secrets, but most of it is steeped in folklore, so it’s hard to determine what’s reliable and what isn’t.”

“Alright, we can do that,” Harry said decidedly. “But… Hermione I still don’t understand why he would try to help. I know you said he’s a good person underneath, but it sounds like he’s risking getting in trouble with his parents. I’d think that self-interest would trump whatever good qualities he might have deep under the surface.”

“Well, I should have thought that was clear,” Hermione said haughtily. 

Ron and Harry exchanged glances. “Care to enlighten us?” Ron asked. 

“No, I don’t think so,” Hermione responded, although Harry noticed that she looks somewhat unsure. 

*

“I’ve been meaning to tell you…” Harry started a little while later. “Weird things have been happening all summer, and then a house elf showed up and tried to convince me not to go to Hogwarts.” Hermione and Ron just stared at him. “And then he used magic in my house, which made the Ministry think I used magic… so they threatened to expel me from Hogwarts.”

“How… how did you not mention that earlier?” Hermione asked shrilly. 

Harry shrugged. “Well, I mean, you guys didn’t respond to any of my letters all summer, so I figured there wasn’t any point in sending another letter.” Ron opened his mouth to protest and Harry quickly explained, “But Ron said that he’d been sending letters all summer, and was confused about why I didn’t respond, and that’s why he and the twins used their dad’s car to come rescue me.”

“Apparently someone has been stopping Harry from getting letters,” Ron explained. “And from sending them to use too.”

“You think it was the house elf?” Hermione asks. “And what’s a house elf? I’ve only ever seen them mentioned briefly, but there’s barely ever any explanation about them. All of the books just assume that the reader knows about them already, which is entirely unhelpful. I take it they’re some kind of… domestic help?”

Ron nodded, “Only the oldest, richest families have them. There’s some kind of thing where the elf families are permanently indentured to the wizarding families, and like, generation after generation the elves work for the wizarding families.”

Hermione stared at Ron for a moment. “But… the house elves have the option to leave, right? And they’re paid for their work?”

Ron shrugged. “I don’t think so. But I’ve never actually talked to one…”

“So they’re slaves?” Harry asked slowly. 

Ron’s eyes widened. “Uh… um… sort of? But it’s not like real slaves.”

“If they’re born into permanent service to a family who essentially owns their labor and doesn’t pay them for it, how is that not slavery?” Hermione asked. 

“Well, they like it!” Ron states. “That’s like, the whole thing about house elves. They love serving the wizarding families. It’s what makes them happy.”

Hermione’s jaw managed to drop even further. “If it’s the only life they know, then how can you say that it makes them happy? If they literally have no other options, then how can they know what happiness is? I’m sure that saying they’re happy is just some kind of pureblood propaganda!”

“I… uh… never thought of it that way,” Ron said slowly. “Everyone always says that the house elves love their families and that serving them makes them happy.”

“Well, I think that everyone is wrong,” Hermione said, crossing her arms. “And I thought Draco was better than that."

“Why would you think that?” Ron demands. 

*

After worrying about Harry and Ron missing the entire train ride, Hermione resolved to approach Draco as soon as she saw him. She had shared the train car with Neville and Ginny, and Neville was still with her as she walked toward the Dining Hall. 

Neville looked uncertain, but followed her. As they approached, Draco looked up with wide eyes and shook his head slightly, but Hermione wasn’t sure how to interpret his look. He stepped forward quickly and tripped Neville, knocking him over. Crabbe and Goyle both burst into loud laughter. 

In the chaos, Draco pressed a parchment into her hand and whispered, “Not here. Meet me tonight. Bring them if you need to. Also, apologize to Longbottom.”

Hermione gaped at him as he took Crabbe and Goyle by the arms and said loudly, “I almost forgot to tell you about what my father bought me last week…”

Hermione quickly helped Neville up. “I’m so sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean for that to happen to you.”

Neville quirked a small grin. “It’s all right, Hermione. I didn’t expect anything different, honestly. But did I see Draco hand you something?”

Hermione felt her cheeks heat, and hoped that the color wasn’t visible on her dark skin. 

“He did… Neville… can we just… pretend this didn’t happen and I promise that one day soon I’ll explain everything.”

“Sure, Hermione,” he said softly as he turned to head into the Dining Hall.

Hermione settled herself on the bench and then tried to surreptitiously read the slip of parchment under the table. 

_There’s so much to tell you, but I’m so glad to be here. Meet me tonight in the empty classroom on the 3rd floor._

*

Almost an hour later, Harry and Ron sullenly walked into the Dining Hall, trailing behind Professor Snape. As soon as they entered, Hermione glanced across at Draco, who was staring at her with wide eyes. He shrugged slightly so she turned back to watch Harry and Ron. 

“We’ll explain later,” Harry said quietly as he slid onto the bench next to her. 

“I have things to tell you too,” Hermione whispered, “although I’m sure it’s much less dramatic than whatever happened to you two. Are you alright?”

“Yes,” Ron replied softly. “We’re fine. It was all too close though.” Ron groaned and reached for a plate of food, but it vanished under his fingers. “Damn! I was hungry!”

*

As they walked back to the Common Room, the three of them exchanged stories in quick whispers. 

“He thinks we’d actually go out after curfew?” Ron asked angrily. 

“Well, of course,” Hermione answered. “I’m sure he has a good reason. And I want to know what that reason is.”

“Do you remember what happened the last time Draco said he’d meet us out after bedtime?” Ron demanded.

“Of course I do,” Hermione replied simply. “But he hasn’t pulled anything like that in a long time. And I think he has a valid reason for it now… or at least a reason that he believes is valid.”

“Well, alright,” Harry said eventually. “We’ll go. I’ll grab my invisibility cloak when we go up to unpack some things, and we’ll meet you back in the common room in a bit?”

Hermione nodded. 

A few hours later, the three of them finally managed to sneak through the portrait hole. There had been a few stragglers staying up playing snaps, but they’d finally gone upstairs.

Draco was pacing when they arrived. He jumped slightly when the door opened, but Hermione quickly stepped out of the invisibility cloak. “Oh good, you came,” he sighed.

“Draco, what’s going on?” Hermione asked as she moved toward him.

“Yea, you’ve got some explaining to do,” Harry says angrily.

“I’m sorry I tripped Neville,” he said instantly. “Genuinely. But I overheard my dad talking to Goyle’s dad just the other night. He hinted that he didn’t trust me anymore and asked Goyle to report back to him if I did anything suspicious.” He rubbed his forehead. “I couldn’t have Hermione talk to me right away. Goyle will forget about it after a couple weeks. I just have to play it innocent in front of him.”

“Innocent?” Ron scoffed.

“You think your friend will spy on you?” Harry asked

“Of course,” Draco said simply.

“But then what happened at the train platform?” Ron asked angrily. 

Draco stared blankly for a few seconds before glancing at Hermione. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “What happened?”

“We couldn’t get onto the platform!” Ron said. “The brick wall turned solid, and we crashed onto it like a pair of dumb muggles.”

Draco squinted. “It turned solid?” The pair nodded. “I wouldn’t even know how to do that, and I doubt that any other student would. Are you sure the two of you don’t just have so little magic that the wall thought you were muggles?” They both scowled at him, to which Draco smirked. At Hermione’s tight-lipped look, however, he changed his tactic. “I suppose… but it wouldn’t make sense to turn it solid before the train left. A lot of the parents would still need to get back through so they could go home.”

“They do?” Ron asked with confusion. “My parents said they always apparate out.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Of course most of them do, you thoughtless git. But there are plenty of witches and wizards who don’t like to apparate.” He glanced at Hermione, “Besides the parents who can’t apparate.”

“Oh, right,” Ron said, realizing his mistake. “That makes sense.”

“I think it has to do with whatever Dobby was talking about,” Harry said softly. “When he told me not to come back to Hogwarts. I think it’s related.”

“Wait, Dobby told you not to come back?” Draco scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “My Dobby?”

“Your Dobby?” Hermione demanded. “He’s a living person, not a possession!”

Draco blinked at her. “Of course. Well. I mean. He’s not a person. He’s an elf. But obviously I know he’s not a possession.”

“What?”

Draco looked around, “Wait, hold on, you think I hate Dobby?”

They all nodded. Draco frowned. “No! Dobby half-raised me. He… he takes care of me.” They continued to stare at him with disbelief. “Here, wait, I can prove it. Dobby?”

*pop*

Dobby’s wide eyes somehow got wider at the sight of Harry and Draco next to each other. 

“D--D--Draco? Harry Potter?”

“Dobby, were you doing something important for my parents just now?”

“No, sir Draco, I was polishing the silver. They won’t notice I’m here.”

Draco grinned and held his arms out. Dobby stepped in and they hugged. “Dobby, you know Harry,” he gave Dobby a look and Dobby looked bashful. “But these are our other friends--”

“Oh yes,” Dobby said with a wide smile. He stepped toward them, “You’re Ronald Weasley and you’re Hermione Granger. I’ve heard a lot about both of you.”

“You’ve heard about us?” Hermione asked. 

Ron glanced at Harry, “Did you tell him about us?”

Harry shook his head and Draco looked down, blushing slightly. “I got lonely over the summer. Dobby and I talk a lot. He’s a good listener.”

Hermione scoffed. “Well of course he’s a good listener. He doesn’t have a choice in the matter.”

Draco looked down at Dobby. “Well… he doesn’t have to listen to me…”

“Dobby loves listening to Master Draco,” Dobby said with enthusiasm. “I feel very special that Master Draco chooses to talk to me. He treats me like an equal.” Dobby’s eyes started tearing. “No other house elf that I’ve ever talked to is treated so well by one of his humans.”

“So you’re totally happy serving the Malfoys?” Harry asked softly. 

Dobby glanced at Draco, who nodded. “I am very happy. Almost all of the time. If only Master Lucius wouldn’t kick me quite so much… I’d be very happy. Thank you for asking, Master Harry Potter, sir. You are so thoughtful.” As Dobby finished talking, Harry nodded awkwardly, and then Dobby turned toward the desk.

Draco reached down and flicked Dobby’s ear. “There. You’ve been punished suitably.”

Dobby looked up at Draco, “Thank you, Master Draco.” Hermione and Harry exchanged quick glances of alarm. “But you shouldn’t be here, Master Harry Potter. It isn’t safe for you. Or for Miss Hermione Granger.”

Draco reached out and took Dobby’s hand, “Dobby, is it because of the Chamber of Secrets opening?”

Dobby’s eyes went so wide they almost fell out of his head. “How do you… how do you…”

“I overheard my father in his study one day last week.”

Dobby nodded suddenly before darting away from Draco, but since he was holding the elf’s hand, he was able to jerk him back quickly and wrap his arms around Dobby’s small body. “Do not hurt yourself,” he commanded quietly. 

Dobby went limp in Draco’s arms and sighed, “Thank you.”

Hermione stared at Draco with wide eyes. He winced. “My father has commanded Dobby to punish himself if he does or says anything that can compromise the family. But as a Malfoy, I can command him not to.”

“You realize how barbaric that sounds, right?” she whispered. 

He nodded slowly, staring at her. “I never did before… it was just… it’s how we’ve always done things.” He stared down at Dobby, who was looking up at Draco lovingly. “Dobby… from now on… unless one of my parents are actively watching you… do not hurt yourself as a punishment. Instead… create something… for me. Leave it in my bedroom at home, in that cupboard, you know the one, and I will check on them when I come home.”

“I… I don’t need to hurt myself?” Dobby asked softly.

Draco shook his head quickly. “Unless my parents want to witness it. You know I can’t… you know if I contradicted them it would be bad for both of us.”

“Thank you, Master Draco. Thank you!” Dobby buried his chest in Draco’s chest and cried for a moment. Draco looked up at each of the Gryffindors uncomfortably for a moment. 

“Dobby,” Draco said softly. “Dobby, can you please tell us anything else you know about the Chamber of Secrets? And remember, you can’t punish yourself physically. Whatever punishment you think you need to do, you’re going to go home and create something for me, remember? It can be a cup or a painting or a hat.”

“Yes. Thank you Master Draco. There’s a diary,” Dobby whispered. “Your father has had a diary for many years. It belonged to the Dark Lord.” Dobby quivered. “He believes that the diary has the power to reopen the Chamber of Secrets, and to reopen it fully.”

“Do you know where the diary is right now?”

Dobby shook his head. “Master Lucius said he had a brilliant plan. A plan that would satisfy many different goals.”

“Dobby,” Harry asked softly. “Did you try to stop us from coming to school?”

Dobby’s eyes widened again. “I told you it was dangerous to be here this year,” he whispered. “But… but if Master Draco is already trying to help you… maybe I didn’t need to keep you out of the school.”

“Dobby… now that I’m here, I’ve got Dumbledore to protect me, right? You said that Dumbledore is one of the most powerful wizards, right?” Dobby nodded. “And Draco is going to help us too… and that’s good, right?”

Dobby nodded fervently. “Master Draco is so smart and talented. If he is helping you, Master Harry Potter, I am sure you will be safe.”

Draco blushed again. “So… all we need to do is find a cursed diary before it can somehow open up the Chamber of Secrets and cause the deaths of all of the muggleborns.”

“No big deal,” Ron said sarcastically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weaving a plot in and out of cannon when I haven't read the book in a while is complicated lol.


	5. Part 2: Chamber of Secrets (Year 2)

Hermione looked up from her book to see that Ron was staring off into the distance. She rolled her eyes. “Ron, have you gotten any of that essay written?”

“Yea,” he said slowly before blinking and redirecting his attention to her. “Actually, no. But what’s that Ginny is writing in?”

Harry and Hermione turned to look at Ginny as she sat across the Common Room. She was hunched over writing in a small black book. 

“Her diary?” Harry guessed. 

Ron shook his head. “She doesn’t have a diary. I remember her asking for one in Diagon Alley and my parents said they didn’t have the…” he blushed before changing the course of his sentence. “They said she couldn’t get one.”

The three of them slowly turned to stare at each other with wide eyes. “Who’s going to ask her about it?”

“Well, we certainly can’t,” Harry pointed out. “She’ll clam up instantly and deny even having it.”

“Right,” Hermione said, setting her book aside. “I’ll go.”

*

“What do you mean you didn’t take it?” Draco asked in a whisper. They were leaning toward each other in the library. Draco had apparently convinced Crabbe and Goyle that he needed to study without them on a regular basis in order to satisfy his father, and since neither of them wanted to spend any additional time in the library than they needed to, it was a relatively safe space for Draco and Hermione to talk. 

They still had to stay as quiet as possible so they didn’t get kicked out. 

“She said she found it!” Hermione whispered back. “I couldn’t just… confiscate it because I suspect it’s the cursed diary!”

“But… but you have to!” Draco whispered back. 

“Obviously. But… how?”

Draco pursed his lips and leaned back. “I mean, the easiest thing would probably be to wait until she was asleep and then _accio_ it out of her room, right?” Hermione shrugged and nodded. “Can you think of any other identifiers than the color?”

“There was a small inscription in the front. It said T. M. Riddle.”

Draco stared. “Are you serious?” Hermione nodded slowly. “That’s the diary! Remember what Dobby said?” Hermione shrugged. “Just… trust me on this one, alright? We found it. That’s the cursed diary. And Ron’s little sister has it.”

“Alright. We’ll get it tonight. But then what do we do with it?”

Draco shrugged. “What does the golden boy say we do with it?”

“Give it to Dumbledore,” Hermioned replied slowly. 

“Just like that?”

She was the one to shrug this time. “Apparently.”

“And… he’ll handle that? I’m still new to this whole… thing.”

“What? Being good?” 

Draco pointed at her, “You hush now. I’m trying my best.”

She reached out and covered his other hand with hers. “I know you are Draco.”

*

“Excuse me, Professor McGonnagal?” 

She looked up from her desk. “Yes, Potter?”

“I, uh… I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore.” She stared at him for a moment without reacting. “Last year, at the end of the year, he told me that if I ever needed to talk to him… that I could. But I don’t know how to.”

“You know you could send him an owl, right?” She asked archly. 

“Oh. I… didn’t think about that.” 

“But this once, I can pass the message along to him to see what he says. I have a meeting with him in a few minutes anyway.”

“Can you… can you tell him it’s important?” Harry pleaded. “I wouldn’t bother you or him if it wasn’t really important.”

She nodded shortly, even though Harry could tell she was curious.

An hour later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the library studying, when Dumbledore appeared at the side of their table. Ron jumped and knocked over one of his books while Harry smiled hesitantly.

“Hi, Professor Dumbledore.”

“Good evening, Harry. And hello Hermione and Ron. Professor McGonagall said you wanted to speak with me?” He redirected his eyes to Harry, who nodded. “Harry, why don’t we walk?”

Dumbledore turned and walked away, and Harry turned to Ron and Hermione who both shrugged and then made waving gestures. Harry grabbed his bag and jumped up, throwing it over his shoulder as he rushed to catch up with Dumbledore.

Harry glanced out a window as they passed it and winced slightly when he saw that it was snowing already. 

Dumbledore followed his line of sight and sighed. “I was hoping to hold out on the snow for a few more weeks as well. Winter seems to be creeping up on us quite a bit quicker than any of us were ready for, isn’t it?” He glanced down at Harry, who nodded. “Why don’t we step in here?” Dumbledore gestures to an empty classroom and Harry nods again as he enters the room. 

“Professor,” he started as soon as the door closed. “We found something that we think is cursed, and I figured that you should have it so that you can do whatever needs to be done with it.”

Dumbledore nodded slowly as he perched atop the teacher’s desk. 

Harry waited a moment before opening his bag and pulling out the diary. He’d been carrying it around with him, afraid that if he left it in the dormitory it would disappear. He held it out to Dumbledore. “Nothing seems wrong with it… but if you write it in, it responds.”

“It responds?” Dumbledore asked quietly as he took the book and inspected it. He opened the first page and stared down at the inscription for a long time. “Harry, I think you need to tell me how you came to be in possession of this. The whole story, if you don’t mind.”

Harry gulped and proceeded to tell Dumbledore everything, including Draco’s and Dobby’s roles. 

Dumbledore was silent through the entire story, and it wasn’t until Harry finished by telling him about how he approached Professor McGonnagal that he spoke again. “You seem… more surprised by Draco willingly helping you than you do by possessing a cursed diary that is claimed to open a mythical Chamber built by the school’s founder.”

Harry shrugged. “Sir, no offense or anything, but magic is all kind of… new and fantastic. You could tell me just about anything about this school or some secret that magic is capable of, and I think I’d believe you. But Draco… he’s just such a git sometimes… he’s mean to most of the kids in the school, and just about the only one who he’s nice to is Hermione… and it’s like… when he’s around her, he’s nicer to Ron and me too. I just don’t really get it. He said his parents were almost definitely Death Eaters, so how could he be a good person?”

Dumbledore nodded. “You were raised by two rather… narrow-minded muggles, right Harry?”

Harry snorted and nodded. 

“But you yourself are not like them, right?”

Harry nodded again and squinted at Dumbledore. 

“Very often children take on the mindsets and traits of the people who raise them… but often, once their eyes are opened, they are able to look beyond the way they were raised and begin to form their own opinions.”

“Are you saying that Draco isn’t as much of a prat as his parents are?”

“Language, young man,” Dumbledore reprimanded, even though his eyes twinkled. “And I’m saying that Draco is young and has not yet fully established himself.”

Harry nodded and studied his hands for a minute. “He and Hermione study together sometimes. And they exchange owls too.”

“Being friends with someone like Hermione might be very good for Draco,” Dumbledore observed. “She doesn’t fit into many of the stereotypes that his parents likely have taught him, and she is likely demonstrating, simply through existing, that there are many things about the world that don’t line up with his parents’ visions.”

“He said he didn’t want the Chamber to open,” Harry acknowledged. “But also this week he tripped Neville and laughed at Seamus for having a muggle dad.”

“I think it’s very possible that he’s a good person on the inside, but might struggle with how to express his goodness on a daily basis,” Dumbledore said kindly. “He also might be unsure how to act around his Slytherin peers.”

*

Hermione looked up in surprise as an owl landed in front of her at the breakfast table. Ron sometimes got an owl from his mother, but other than that the three of them didn’t really know anyone who would be sending them owls. 

She carefully untied the scroll and offered the owl a small sausage. He grabbed it with a small ruffle of feathers and flew off. 

“Who’s it from?” Harry asked quietly.

Hermione shrugged as she unrolled it, and then her eyes flew up to the Slytherin table across the room. She wasn’t surprised to see that Draco was watching her, and he gave a small salute before turning back to his food. She couldn’t help but smile as she looked down at the parchment. 

_Hermione,_

_I know you’re going to be mad at me, but I can’t study at all this week. Quidditch practices have been brutal. We’re playing Ravenclaw on Saturday and Flint might have a heart-attack if we don’t win._

_I’ve attached the notes on the chapters we have to write the essay about as well as the outline I was planning to use for my essay. I want to try to push the envelope a bit, and I think that Professor Snape will appreciate that more than simply reciting the various uses of the potion, which I’m sure is what Ron and Harry will end up doing. I’m sorry. I try. I really do. Let me know what you think about my ideas about the potion though._

_I’m hoping that next week Flint will give us any free nights so we can work together._

_I don’t know why we haven’t thought about doing this, though. The castle has dozens of owls to use, and they’re all free. It’s just a bit of a hassle to walk up to the owlery._

_Draco_

_P.S. Please don’t take offense to this, but if you don’t want to walk to the owlery, I’d rather get no response from you than get a letter delivered by Harry’s snowy owl. That thing is so ostentatious._

Hermione couldn’t help but chuckle as she looked back up at Draco. He was chatting with the dark-skinned boy next to him, but Hermione watched for a moment longer until he glanced at her and smirked. She grinned shyly back and raised her eyebrows. He laughed as he turned back to his friend. 

Later that day she made a point of making her way up to the owlery to send her response to Draco. 

_Draco,_

_I think your notes for Professor Snape’s essay sound brilliant. I’ve attached my notes as well. I didn’t plan anything quite as revolutionary as you, but I’m not sure he would appreciate it as much if I did. Instead, my plan was to go for a thorough analysis of all aspects of the potion, as well as some of the successes and failures of potion-makers throughout history who have tried to put creative spins on the traditional brewing process._

_And I want to wish you well in your game on Saturday, but Harry and Ron have both explained to me, in quite a lot of detail, about why it would be best for Gryffindor if you were to lose on Saturday. I know that quidditch is very important to the three of you, but honestly, I don’t see the appeal to it._

_Maybe, if the weather is nice, we could study out on the grounds next week? Spring feels like it’s finally here, so it would be pleasant to enjoy it. But… if you think it would be too risky for us to be seen outside together… I understand._

_Hermione_

_P.S. Please note the wonderfully nondescript owl I have chosen to deliver this letter. I hope you appreciate her._

_P.P.S. I too can’t believe that we haven’t thought of exchanging letters even while we’re at school. It’s brilliant._

_*_

“Can you please stop picking fights with Harry?” Hermione asked a few weeks later while they were studying out on the grounds. They had found a patch of trees that gave them some cover so they weren’t visible to everyone else that was outside. Draco had repeatedly assured Hermione that he wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with her, but he didn’t want to do anything to upset his parents, particularly since they had literally tried to put a curse into effect that could have killed her this year.

“But… he’s so arrogant!”

Hermione’s jaw dropped. “I’m sorry. Did those words just come out of your mouth?”

Draco blushed deeply and grinded his teeth. “It’s just… he gets preferential treatment all the time and he just… he doesn’t even question it! He just accepts it and assumes he deserves it. I know that I’m privileged! I can’t ever forget it because my family has ground it into my brain at every single available moment since I was born. I was raised to be arrogant! But I do my damnedest to actually earn it too. You see me studying and preparing and practicing! He just… lucks his way into everything and then when everyone praises him he believes he deserves it!”

“Draco… are you jealous?”

“Of course I’m bloody jealous!” Draco was shouting at this point and didn't even care who might overhear them. “I work my butt off so that I not only live up to my family’s expectations, but so that I can establish myself on my own. I want to impress people for who I am, not just because of my name! He just… everything seems so easy for him!” Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt him and he pointed at her, “And don’t even tell me that he’s had a hard life because I know he has! And I know I haven’t made it any easier for him.” He rubs his face. “It’s just… I work my arse off all the time and I’m still not as good as he is… and it’s killing me.”

“Draco, it isn’t a competition,” Hermione said kindly. 

“But it is!” Draco whirled and pointed in the general direction of the main hall of the castle. “It literally is! There are a million little gems over there tracking the fact that Potter is better than me at everything, even though he puts in half the effort that I do.” Draco was breathing heavily as he finished speaking.

Hermione stared at Draco for a moment. He was still facing in the vague direction of the Main Hall when she stepped in front of him and slowly wrapped her arms around him. 

He stiffened, “What are you doing?”

“I’m hugging you, you prat,” she said softly. “It’s what friends do.”

A moment later, Draco brought his arms up to rest on Hermione’s upper back. “Oh,” he said finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So... with a bit more info they manage to avoid the Chamber of Secrets from opening at all! Ginny still poured a bit of her soul into Riddle's diary, but no where near enough. 
> 
> So the kiddos get to actually enjoy a school year! Like... the whole thing! And deal with normal tween drama like jealousy and competition!


	6. Prisoner of Azkaban (Year 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just... go with me on the timelines lol. I'm sticking to the canon plot... sort of.

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Draco met up in an empty classroom the first night they were back in Hogwarts again. Hermione and Draco had been exchanging letters all summer again, but they had been careful to keep things vague or focused on the books they were reading. They were both nervous about the letters being caught and read.

When Hermione stepped out of the invisibility cloak she walked straight up to Draco and hugged him. He froze for a second before wrapping his arms around her back and glancing up at Harry and Ron. They both averted their eyes. 

Hermione pulled back and said, “Draco, I’ve missed you. How was your summer?”

“Tense,” he said with a shrug. “How are the three of you?”

“Worried,” Hermione acknowledged.

Harry stepped forward. “Draco, do you know anything about Sirius Black?”

Draco shrugged. “Mostly what I’ve read in the papers lately.”

“But do you… know anything else about him? He’s supposed to be a really dark wizard.”

“He betrayed my parents to Voldemort,” Harry added angrily.

“How am I supposed to know? My family isn’t like… actually dark.”

“You, yourself admitted that they were almost definitely Death Eaters,” Harry points out dryly.

Draco waved his arms around. “But they weren’t like… evil. No, no, no, don’t even start,” he looked at Hermione. “We’ve had this argument a thousand times already,” Harry and Ron exchange looks and Ron raised his eyebrows. “They’re not evil… they’re just self-serving and pretentious and… paranoid that if they admit that muggle-borns are real wizards that it will somehow make them less… less special.” He sighed deeply. “They’re not particularly good people… but they’re not straight up bad. Like, the stories that I’ve heard about my Aunt Bellatrix… she sounds like she was pure evil.”

“Oh yea?” Ron said, leaning forward, “What’d she do? Because as far as I’m concerned, all the Death Eaters were the same.”

Draco gritted his teeth as he stared at Ron, before glancing at Harry and Hermione. He preferred spending time with just her, and part of him hated to admit it, but Potter was growing on him too. Ron though, Ron was still a git, through and through. “Well, one of the top things that comes to mind is the reason why she was sentenced to Azkaban,” Draco drawled. “She and her husband tortured a pair of Aurors…” he paused and blinked before his eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. “Shit… I never actually put that together. It has to be…” 

“What, Draco?” Hermione leans forward, and Draco knows that if the other two Gryffindors weren’t there, she’d probably touch his arm or something comforting like that. She’d been doing that the past few months, and he didn’t want to admit to himself how much he valued it, even if he still wasn’t entirely used to it.

“The two Aurors that they tortured… they used the Cruciatus curse until they lost their minds… they were a married couple… and their last name was Longbottom.”

The trio was silent for a moment before Harry burst out, “Your aunt tortured Neville’s parents until they lost their minds?”

Draco winced, “I think so. I mean… it’s not like a thing we’re proud of. We don’t talk about it a lot. And I’m not even sure that it was his parents… but like… it makes sense, right? He lives with his grandma, right? Like, his parents are totally out of the picture?”

“Shit,” Ron said, and everyone nodded in agreement. 

“But do you know anything about Sirius Black?” Hermione asked finally. 

Draco shrugged and shook his head. “As far as I know, he wasn’t ever a Death Eater. That’s not saying he didn’t betray your parents,” he said quickly as Harry looked like he was about to speak, “apparently lots of people switched sides, but I don’t think he was a Death Eater through and through.”

“That’s… something,” Hermione said finally. 

*

Draco inhaled the cold air deeply. He had just convinced Crabbe and Goyle to go to Zonko’s Joke Shop and see how many different things they could buy. He figured he’d meet up with them later, but first he had to follow a hunch. 

He strolled down the mostly empty street. The snow was falling and making the whole world seem peaceful and quiet. His eye was drawn to the side when he saw footprints mysteriously moving across the street. He picked up his pace until he was only a few paces behind the steps, placing his feet in them as closely as he could. 

“You really think it’s a good idea for Dumbledore’s Golden Boy to be traipsing around off Hogwarts property while there’s a madman hunting him?”

There was a swirl of snow and movement, and even though Draco still couldn't see him, he could clearly tell where Harry was. 

“Come on, Hermione and Ron said they’d meet me up ahead,” Draco said with a smirk. 

“They said they’d meet up with you?” Harry’s voice was surprised when it emanated from the empty space.

“Hmmm,” Draco agreed. “Well, I knew you’d be here, and I figured I had the best chance of finding you.” He waited a few seconds until he saw Harry’s footsteps start to follow him. “You know, because I’m the sneaky Slytherin, and all. Snow might not be the best weather for you to be walking around in, by the way.”

“I noticed,” Harry said angrily. 

Draco took his wand out and whispered, _“Ventus minoris.”_ He watched as the small gust of wind wiped away most of the evidence of their footsteps. “Walk under the eaves of the building,” he said with a gesture. “That way you don’t leave footprints anymore. And then we’ll move to walk under the trees when we get to the end of the street.”

The pair walked quietly for a few minutes before they approached Ron and Hermione finally. “You’ll never guess who I found in town,” Draco drawled.

“Who?” 

Draco stepped to the side and dramatically gestured at the blank air next to him. 

“There’s nobody there,” Ron pointed out dryly.

“And who do we know that would be somewhere without appearing to be there?”

Hermione gasped. “Harry! You said you’d stay at the castle and get your work done!”

Ron laughed. “How did you sneak out, man? 

Harry pulled the invisibility cloak aside, “I just wanted to see everything! I can stay back in the castle next time!”

“You just wanted to know what you were missing?” Draco asked dryly. 

“I’m cold,” Ron said abruptly. “Do you want to go to Madam Rosmerta’s and get butterbeers?”

“Yea!” Harry said with a grin. 

“I’d love to,” Draco said hesitantly. “But I’m not sure I should…”

“Nonsense,” Harry said. “I’m not supposed to be there either. You can come under the Cloak with me. This way none of your Slytherin buddies can spy on you.”

Draco’s mouth fell open. “You’d… you’d do that?”

Harry shrugged. “Sure.”

Hermione beamed at the pair before she looped her arm through Ron’s. “Let’s go get a table.”

Draco slipped under Harry’s cloak and marvelled at how effective it was. He and Harry made sure to follow in Ron and Hermione’s footsteps when they needed to travel across the snow and they made their way to the crowded tavern after a few minutes. 

The heat immediately overwhelmed Draco under the cloak, but Hermione managed to find a small table in a dark corner. She slipped her large knit hat off and pushed it toward Draco. “Put that on,” she whispered. “I think it’ll disguise you enough.”

He grinned and reached for it, making sure to pull it down low on his face so that all of his hair was covered. Ron reached over and draped a bright red scarf around his neck. “That’ll help too,” he said with a snarky grin. 

Harry took his glasses off and slipped them into his bag as he pulled his own hat down low over his hair and scar. “How do I look?” he asked softly. 

“Completely different,” Ron said, lifting his eyebrows. “I didn’t think your glasses would make that big of a difference.”

Harry grinned, “I don’t even recognize myself in the mirror half the time when I don’t have my glasses on.”

“Well, if anyone comes over, make sure to keep your eyes down,” Hermione said in a whisper. “Your glasses, hair, and scar might be pretty distinctive markers, but it’s still very rare for someone who’s as dark skinned as you are to have such green eyes.”

He grinned ruefully. “I promise, Hermione.”

She looked around for a moment. “Well, I’ll go get us some drinks. The three of you just stay here and try to be inconspicuous.”

Draco turned to Harry as Hermione left. “I always wanted to ask about that, Potter. How come your eyes are so light?”

Harry shrugged shortly. “Apparently my mom had green eyes. And my dad’s family was Pakistani. Hagrid gave me a photo album that has a couple pictures of them in it, so I’ve seen pictures of them before. Maybe I can show you sometime.”

Draco nodded and grinned. “That’d be cool.”

Hermione returned a minute later with four drinks in her hands and wide eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Draco asked softly.

She gestured behind her with her head as she quickly tied her hair back into a bun. She usually liked to let her curls free, but Draco understood her attempt at disguising one of her key features as he saw Professor McGonnagal, Hagrid, and a few other professors moving toward an empty table not far from them. 

Hermione pulled out her wand and levitated a Christmas tree until it was mostly blocking their table. Ron and Draco both leaned forward so Harry was even further in the shadows. 

Madame Rosmerta came over with a few pitchers of drinks a moment later and sat down at the table with them. 

The four students sat silently as they listened to the hushed conversation the professors had. The tree blocked them from sight, but they could still clearly hear everything that was said. 

Harry was seething by the end of the conversation. Draco could feel him practically vibrating with rage as the adults got up and left. They waited a few more minutes before Hermione whispered. “We should leave now too, right?”

Draco and Ron nodded, but Harry was still too far gone in his rage to react. Draco slipped the invisibility cloak up around them again and pulled Harry’s arm to get him to walk with him. Once they were outside, Ron and Hermione hurried back toward the castle. Draco and Harry struggled to stay near their footsteps. Draco could have let go of Harry, he knew, but he was worried. Harry had started mumbling under his breath so quietly that Draco couldn’t make out what he was saying, even though they were practically pressed side-to-side.

They slipped back into the castle and Draco was grateful to see Hermione rush into an empty classroom on the first floor. 

As soon as the door closed, Draco pulled his wand out and whispered, _“Quietus_ ,” at the door mere seconds before Harry threw off the invisibility cloak and exploded. 

“He was my god-father?!” He shouted. “He was the best man at my parents’ wedding!? And he betrayed them?” He started pacing and pointed at Ron as he continued, “Now I understand what your dad was about, when he told me particularly not to go after Sirius. Because right now, I want to murder him.” He spun to look at Draco. “There’s a murder spell. Right? What is it? I want to know how to kill him when we find him.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Draco said holding up his hands. “First of all, I’m not going to teach you one of the Unforgivable Curses. Second of all, I resent that you assume that I know how to murder somebody.”

“And Harry, you promised not to go after him, no matter what,” Hermione reminded softly. 

“That was before I knew this!” Harry shouted back. He went to rub his hands through his hair, but had to rip his hat off first. He dropped down to his knees and stared at the ground. “They were best friends and Sirius Black still betrayed my dad,” he whispered after a moment.

Hermione knelt next to Harry and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. “Harry, everything about this is terrible. But now we have more information about Sirius Black. We know when he was in Hogwarts, so that can help direct our research.” She glanced up at Ron and Draco for help. 

“Yea,” Ron added. “We can look to see who else was in Hogwarts, and maybe we can find out who else was their friend.”

Harry continued breathing raggedly for another few minutes. He looked up at Draco finally. “You know it, though.”

Draco nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off Harry’s. “Use _stupefy_ though. Or even _expelliarmus_.”

Harry nodded in return before glancing at Hermione. He smiled slightly at her, “Don’t worry Hermione. I don’t know how to find him now any more than I did yesterday. And researching who my dad was friends with probably won’t bring us any closer. Maybe… maybe it’ll give me closure… or something.”

She nodded hesitantly, but glanced up at Draco, and he could see the uncertainty in her eyes. 

*

“If Potter can do it, so can I,” Draco said fiercely as he stepped forward.

“Malfoy, wait!” Harry held his hand out to stop Draco, but he swatted at the other boy’s outstretched hand.

“You’re not better than me,” Draco snarled. 

Harry fell back, a look of surprise in his eyes. They still bickered occasionally, but Draco hadn’t been outright rude to Harry in a while and they had definitely bonded during the trip into Hogsmeade. 

If only that letter he got from his father hadn’t been so critical. Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and stepping forward. 

“Come on and bow to me, moron-bird,” Draco muttered as he bowed quickly.

“Malfoy! What are ye doin?” Hagrid asked suddenly. “Back up!”

Draco looked up just in time to see the hippogriff kick out at him. He threw an arm up to protect himself as he grabbed for his wand with his other hand. Pain split through his arm as he fell backwards. 

“Draco!” Hermione cried out as she rushed to his side. Draco glanced up to see Harry rush to the hippogriff’s side. He grabbed at the bird’s face as a distraction and started talking very quickly. “Draco, you’re bleeding a lot,” Hermione whispered quickly. _“Ferula_.”

Draco winced as bandages wrapped around his arm but forced himself to offer Hermione a small smile. “Brightest witch of our age,” he whispered. 

“Malfoy what were ye thinkin’?” Hagrid asked loudly. Draco moaned. “Are you-- Are those bandages?”

“His arm is cut,” Hermione explained. “I’m going to walk him to the hospital wing, alright Professor?”

“Oh. Yes. Of course. Good idea Hermione.”

Hermione heaved at Draco’s good arm and pulled him upright. “Come on.” She then turned and all but dragged him away from the two classes. When they were far enough away, she whispered fiercely, “What were you thinking? Just because Harry did it does not mean that you needed to also!”

“I know,” Draco groaned. 

“Then what happened? You haven’t acted like that in months!”

Draco reached into his pocket with his good arm and pulled out the letter from his father. He handed it silently to Hermione and watched her out of the corner of his eyes while she read it. After a few minutes she folded the parchment back up and handed it to him. 

“I’m sorry, Draco,” she said softly. “He shouldn’t have written those things to you. Your grades are exemplary, and you’re even beating me in some of our classes.”

Draco scoffed. “My grades are only better than yours in Potions because Snape doesn’t grade you fairly.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “Possibly.” She glanced at him again as they climbed the steps of the castle. “How’s your arm feeling?”

“Like shit,” he replied honestly. “I’m glad you did the bandaging spell so I didn’t have to see any more blood… but I think he might have hit bone. I felt it jar through me and…” he shuddered. “I’m sure Madame Pomfrey will be able to fix it in a moment. What was that spell, by the way? You said ferula?”

Hermione nodded. “I’m glad it worked. I’ve never actually done it before.”

Draco laughed shortly before silencing himself as they stepped into the hospital wing. 

Madame Pomfrey bustled over, “Well? What’s happened with the two of you? Are those bandages?” Her eyes honed in on Draco’s arm as she spoke. 

He held it out slightly. “They are. Hermione cast them. I got hurt in Professor Hagrid’s class.” Madame Pomfrey’s eyes widened and Draco quickly continued, “But it was my fault! I didn’t listen to him and I approached the hippogriff when I wasn’t supposed to!”

“Hippogriffs,” she sniffed. “Well, at least you know what you did wrong. Let’s see this bandage.” She nodded as she unwrapped it. “You did a good job with this spell. You used ferula?”

Hermione nodded. “It was bleeding quite a lot at first.”

As Madame Pomfrey reached the end of the bandage, she held her wand to the gashes on Draco’s arm. Both Draco and Hermione looked away as they both saw the blood welling up from the wounds. Madame Pomfrey used a wordless spell to fix Draco’s arm, and within a few minutes the skin was unblemished, although still covered in blood. 

“Please clean yourself in that sink,” she said with a gesture. “I want you to take a tonic to help refresh all of the lost blood. Have a seat once you’re clean.”

Draco walked to the sink and washed his arm, but looked down in disgust at his stained robes. He glanced up at Hermione and she lifted her eyebrows. He shot her a wry grin and pulled his wand out. “ _Tergeo_ ,” he whispered and then smiled in satisfaction as the blood vanished from his robes and the wrinkles all vanished. 

Madame Pomfrey came over with a glass of steaming green liquid. “Drink this and then you can be on your way. Do you want me to write a letter notifying your parents?”

“No!” Draco said quickly. “No, I’m fine. Maybe if it were a more serious injury… but really, look! You did a great job. Thank you.” He grinned widely and she squinted slightly before shrugging and turning to walk back toward her office. 

*

“Professor Lupin?” Harry asked hesitantly one day in mid-spring.

Remus looked up from his desk at Harry, and then craned his neck slightly to see Hermione, Ron, and, quite to his surprise, Draco Malfoy, waiting in the doorway for Harry. 

“I really appreciate you teaching me the Expecto Patronum charm… but… would you mind if we asked you a few questions?”

“Sure,” Remus replied softly. “Do your friends want to come in? They don’t need to hover like that.”

Harry glanced over his shoulder and then grinned before gesturing with his head. The three came in and Ron closed the door behind them. 

“Tea?” Remus rose from his desk and bustled about finding cups for everyone after they all nodded. “So what can I do to help you all?”

“We… we wanted to ask you some questions… but… we’ll understand if you don’t want to answer them.” Harry took a sip of tea, hoping it would help him to feel more confident.

Remus glanced around at the teenagers with confusion and uncertainty. “What kind of questions?”

“About Sirius Black,” Draco said softly. Remus visibly relaxed before blinking in confusion several times. 

“We’ve been doing research,” Ron continued. “And apparently you and him were friends with Harry’s parents.”

Remus blinked several more times down at his tea. “I was. You’re right.”

“Sir, Harry promised Ron’s dad that he wouldn’t go after Sirius Black… and we haven’t! But… we still think that Harry deserves to know what happened, and no one will tell us.” Hermione leaned forward as she spoke. “Will you… can you help us to understand?”

Remus stared down at his tea for a long moment before looking back up at Harry. “We were all friends,” he said finally, in a barely audible whisper. “Closer than friends, I would have said. We were almost like brothers…” He stared at his tea again. “We always thought we’d be inseparable. But those were dark times. I… I never would have suspected that Sirius would defect and join the Death Eaters… he was the best man at your parent’s wedding,” he added, glancing up at Harry. “I know it’s been years… but sometimes I still feel the shock of it all over again. I went from having three best friends to none in a single night.” He shook his head while looking at his tea. 

“Three?” Hermione asked. “Are you counting yourself?”

He glanced up at her. “No. Did you not see mention of Peter in your research?” At the blank looks he nodded. “Peter Pettigrew. He was the quietest one in the group and he--”

“Wait.” Ron said, his face going pale. “Peter?” Remus nodded and Ron patted at his pockets quickly before smacking his forehead. “Fred and George have always teased me and said I was trailed by a man named Peter. Where is he?”

Remus’ face went through a series of quick expressions before he leaned forward. “The twins told you that a man named Peter was with you? When?”

Ron shrugged. “Mostly when I sleep.” He glanced at the rest of the group and shrugged, a blush climbing his cheeks. “That’s most of what they tease me about.”

Remus rubbed at his face. “And…. you were patting your pockets because….?”

“I was checking to see if Scabbers was here. He’s the only one who ever sleeps in my bed, so I jokingly call him Peter sometimes.”

Remus stared blankly at Ron. 

“Scabbers is his pet rat,” Harry offered helpfully. 

Remus turned his gaze on Harry. 

“He’s alive?” 

“What… Professor?” Harry asked, feeling uneasy by Remus’ sudden change in demeanor. He had gone from tired and wistful to… stricken all in the matter of a few seconds. 

“Peter was...is… an unregistered animagus who takes the shape of a rat,” Remus whispered finally. 

The group sat in silence and stared at each other. 

“But… Peter Pettigrew is the name of the person that Sirius killed,” Hermione finally said. 

Draco shook his head, “All that was found of him was a finger. Remember? If he could turn into an animagus, he could have definitely escaped.”

“So… Sirius didn’t kill him?” Harry asked in confusion. “Then… then why didn’t he say anything? And why has Peter stayed a rat all these years?”

Draco stood suddenly. “Ron, he’s in your room? We have to get him.”

“You mean they have to get him,” Hermione corrected. “Harry, Sirius wasn’t responsible for killing your parents. Peter was. Sirius must have figured it out and tried to catch Peter!”

Harry and Ron turned and bolted out the door. Hermione turned back to Remus. “Professor, thank you so much! And… I’m sorry! Can we bring him back here? To you?”

“Of course,” Remus said, a hard look in his eye. “I would very much like to speak with him after all these years.”

Hermione and Draco rush toward the Gryffindor Common Room, but just as they’re going up the last staircase, something dashes between their legs. 

“Stop him!” Harry shouts. 

“ _Petrificus Totalus!”_

_“Stupefy!_ ”

The rat turned the corner and the four of them chased after. They slowed down as they entered the Great Hall and peered into it. 

“He’s making his way to the doors!”

“Do you think he can squeeze past?”

“He found a crack!” 

The four of them dash out to the wide doors and yank them open. They race down the stairs and Ron points, “There he is!”

They end up chasing him out onto the grounds. 

“How is a rat this fast?” Draco gasped after a few minutes. Every time one of them got close, the rat darted somewhere else. 

They were getting close to the edge of the forest when Ron dove and shouted in triumph, holding the rat up between his hands. His triumphant shout turned into a scream of terror as a giant black dog lept out of the darkness and clamped its jaw around his leg and startef dragging.

Harry, Draco, and Hermione stared in shock for a second too long before they shouted too and started sending spells toward the dog. 

“Don’t hit Ron!” Harry said between pants as both Ron and the dog disappeared over a hill. 

“Where is Ron’s wand?” Draco half-shouted. “He should be able to jinx the thing from close up.”

“He was holding the rat in both hands,” Harry shouted back. “We have to catch them.”

“And do what?” Draco asked, trying not to let a hysterical edge creep into his voice. “Tackle the rabid dog ourselves?”

“What else do you recommend?” Harry asked as he ran toward a tree that the dog seemed to be dragging Ron into.

“I don’t know!” Draco shouted back. “I just want to voice that this seems reckless--” His voice cut off abruptly as something wrapped around his ankle and yanked him off his feet. The world shifted upside down and then he felt himself flying through the air before abruptly crashing to the ground. Harry and Hermione both help him sit up. “What happened?”

“The… tree attacked you,” Hermione said in hushed tones. “I didn’t realize… but this is the Whomping Willow.”

“Nothing with you is ever simple, is it?” Draco asked, looking up at Harry. 

“He did something to the tree,” Harry said thoughtfully. “Right before he disappeared. Hermione, you saw that, right?”

She nodded quickly. “There’s a secret lever? But how do we get close?”

Harry looked around before picking up a fist sized rock from nearby. “Think I can hit it?” 

Draco groaned as he stood. “You get one try, and then we’re using magic.”

Harry grinned quickly before throwing the rock. It smacked into the tree and then there was a quiet humming that surrounded the whole tree before it swayed and stayed still. 

“Come on!” Harry said, taking off instantly. 

Hermione reached out and took Draco’s hand before the pair rushed after Harry. The exchanged glances as Harry climbed down into a hidden hole in the tree trunk, but followed after him without hesitation. 

Draco winced as he bumped his head on the ceiling of the tunnel they were walking through, so he stooped further to follow after the sounds of Ron’s whimpers. 

They eventually crawled through another small doorway and realized they were inside a house. “In there!” Harry whispered with a point. 

They followed the sound of voices, although Draco couldn’t figure out where the man’s voice had come from. 

“Give me my wand back!” Ron shouted. 

Harry leapt through the door with his wand extended, and Draco and Hermione followed instantly behind. 

_“Protego_ ,” Draco whispered fiercely as the three of them paused at the scene in front of them. 

Ron lay moaning on the floor, clutching the rat still to his chest. 

Sirius Black pointed Ron’s wand at them for a moment before he shifted slightly and pointed it back at Ron’s chest. “I only want the rat,” he growled out softly. 

“I know,” Harry said. “He’s the one who killed my parents, isn’t he?”

Sirius blinked in surprise and confusion and took a step backwards. 

Scabbers jumped suddenly and changed into a man mid-air. The element of surprise helped him to grab the wand from Sirius’ hand, and within a matter of seconds he was rising to his feet, pointing the wand at the trio of students by the door.

 _“Expelliarmus!”_ Harry and Hermione shouted simultaneously. 

_“Immobulus Flexibus!”_ Draco shouted. 

Sirius nodded with approval. “Good job. Now hand over the wand so I can finish him.”

“Can’t… can’t we just call Dumbledore so he can figure everything out?” Hermione suggested.

“No!” Sirius shouted. “I want to finish this.”

“Then… why don’t we call Professor Lupin?” Draco suggested. “He’s probably wondering where we ran off to.”

“How would we do that?” Harry asked.

“We have magic,” Hermione said nervously as she pulled a scrap of paper out of her bag. She raised an eyebrow at Sirius, who nodded slowly. She wrote quickly and then put a spell on it that would turn it into a bird-shape and it flew to the castle. 

“Then… we wait,” Draco said, eyeing everyone with wide eyes. 

They all stand silently for a moment before Sirius gives Draco a side-eyed glance, “Now… that’s a very interesting spell that I’ve only seen performed by my family members.”

Draco gulped. 

“Yea, uh, that might be because we’re related,” Draco admitted.

The trio’s jaws all dropped and Sirius laughed, “Wait, let me guess, you’re Narcissa’s son?”

Draco nodded and Sirius laughed again. “Glad to see I’m not the only black sheep in the family then.”

Draco chuckled uneasily and looked at Harry, who was staring at him in shock. 

Harry slowly turned back to Sirius. “He’s really the one who helped Voldemort kill my parents?” Sirius pursed his lips and nodded curtly. “And you attacked him because you knew?” Sirius nodded again. “Why didn’t you tell anyone? You’ve been in jail for twelve years for a crime you didn’t commit.”

Sirius sighed. “I basically did it, though. I was supposed to be your parents’ Secret Keeper. I convinced James at the last minute to change to Wormtail.” He scowled at the man as he spoke. “It’s my fault your parents died, even if I wasn’t the one who betrayed them. It’s my fault that Wormtail even had the chance to betray them. And… I never fought the murder charge because I completely tried to murder him.” Sirius shrugged and glared at Peter. “I hoped that I murdered him. I still want to murder him.”

“Can I propose an alternative, Padfoot?” Professor Lupin’s voice came from the doorway. 

“Mooney,” Sirius breathed out, looking hesitantly at him. 

“Let’s kill him together,” Professor Lupin said, stepping into the room. 

“Professor!” Hermione cried. “I was hoping you’d be a voice of logic! You can’t condone murder!”

“Normally I would never condone it,” Lupin said. “But this isn’t normal. That man is responsible for the deaths of two of my closest friends, and the false imprisonment of the love of my life.”

“Mooney,” Sirius breathed out again, this time holding his hand toward Lupin, who stepped forward and grasped their fingers together. 

“Oh shit,” Draco said under his breath.

“But… but… you can’t murder him,” Hermione protested weakly. “It’s wrong.”

Draco stepped toward the two men. “If you murder him, you won’t be able to clear your name.” Sirius glanced away from Remus to look at Draco. “He’s bound now. He can’t escape, and even if he were to try to change into a rat again, he won’t be able to move, still. Send for Dumbledore. I’m sure that he’ll listen to what you’re saying, particularly if Potter leads the discussion.” Harry snorted behind him. “Dumbledore can use legilimancy on him, right? Or give him veritaserum, right? And then your name can be cleared. You’d be free. Legitimately free. And he’d go to Azkaban. Wouldn’t that be better than killing him?”

Sirius stared contemplatively at Draco for a long moment before he turned back to Remus to murmur, “Would you send for him?” 

Lupin nodded and turned to the window. He summoned a ghostly large white dog and knelt to whisper to it before sending it off into the distance. “I’m going to check on Ron’s leg.” Remus announced before stepping away from Sirius. “Did you really have to bite him?”

Sirius grimaced. “I wouldn’t have if he wasn’t defending Wormtail so fiercely.”

Ron grunted as Lupin pulled back his pants so he could see the skin better. “It’s ironic,” Ron said shortly, “because I only wanted to protect him so he couldn’t escape.”

Sirius snorted. “I’m sorry then. I didn’t realize we were on the same side.”

 _“Episkey,”_ Remus muttered as he pointed at the various puncture marks on Ron’s leg. Ron sighed after a moment and shifted into a more comfortable position. 

There was a small pop in the hallway and everyone stiffened. “Harry, let’s go meet him in the hallway,” Hermione said softly. 

Harry nodded and slipped out the door, followed quickly by Hermione. He sighed when he saw Dumbledore standing at the end of the hall. “We’re in here, sir.”

Dumbledore turned and nodded. “And you can explain why I’ve been summoned to the Shrieking Shack?”

“It’s Sirius Black,” Harry said quickly. “He’s good, I promise. We figured out, with Professor Lupin, that Peter Pettigrew was alive and hiding in Hogwarts in his animagus form, and Sirius was only trying to get into the castle to catch him.”

Dumbledore stared silently at Harry with wide eyes for a moment. 

“I think we should go inside,” he said softly. “I take it they sent you out here to soften the blow?”

Harry grinned guiltily and shrugged before turning to open the door behind him. 

The three of them reentered the room and Hermione quickly stepped so she was standing between Draco and Ron. 

Dumbledore studied both Sirius Black and Professor Lupin silently for a long moment before he finally spoke. “Sirius, are you still loyal to the Order?”

Sirius let out a deep sigh. “I always have been.”

“And Peter was really the Secret Keeper for the Potters?”

Sirius nodded again, relief showing clear on his face. 

“We still have a lot to discuss,” Dumbledore observed. Sirius nodded nervously. “Well, let’s get these kids back up to the castle. Professor Lupin, it’s a good thing you were here to supervise them. Otherwise I’d be forced to punish them for leaving school property.”

Draco shot Hermione a look and she offered him a small smile and a grin before shrugging. Ron stood up gingerly and Harry stepped over, “Do you want to put an arm over my shoulders?”

Ron took a few ginger steps and then shook his head. “I think I’m good.”

“Then, let’s head on back!” Dumbledore said cheerfully, waving his wand at Peter Pettigrew, who floated into the air ahead of them and moved out into the hallway. “We’ve got to clear Mr. Black’s name so he can get back to his life.”

Draco stared around him with wide eyes, as if he hadn’t just experienced the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the chapters are getting longer lol... just like the books


	7. Summer between Years 3 and 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of letters are exchanged the summer of of the Quidditch World Cup.

_Potter,_

_Congrats on your god-father clearing his name. Apparently we’re related now. My parents are livid about the whole entire thing._

_Malfoy_

_*_

_Malfoy,_

_Thanks. We’re god-cousins? Is that a thing?_

_Sirius and Remus offered to adopt me, but Dumbledore said I can’t - apparently it’s important for me to live with my atrocious muggle relatives. You know how your family is more extreme than most wizards? Well, my aunt and uncle are the same level of extreme, just in the opposite direction._

_However, even though I can’t live with Sirius, Dumbledore didn’t prohibit me from visiting, so I’ve been spending most days helping them set up their new house. Sirius has a ton of great stories about my dad. He’s the first person in my life who talks about him so freely._

_Anyway, hope your summer is going well._

_Potter._

_*_

_Hermione,_

_I know quidditch “isn’t your thing” but are you going to come to the World Cup? It’s a big deal… even for someone who doesn’t care much about it._

_I’m sure that Potter and Weasley would love to go… but tickets are expensive._

_I don’t want any of you to mistake me as generous… but I might have enough pocket money stashed away to get tickets for the lot of you._

_Let me know._

_Draco_

_*_

_Draco,_

_Your secret is safe with me. Luckily, we don’t need to call on your generosity._

_Ron’s father won tickets for all of us from the Ministry! Apparently there was a raffle._

_Anyway, I can assume you’ll be there too? I don’t know how big everything will be, but maybe we can meet up? It’d be nice to see you outside of Hogwarts._

_Hermione_

_*_

_Hermione,_

_Yes - I’ll be at the World Cup - but the bad news is that my father and I got in the biggest row ever, and now he thinks I’m a muggle sympathizer (which is an insult in this house). He talked about not sending me back to Hogwarts because he’s concerned I’m being influenced by Dumbledore too much (he’s the BIGGEST muggle sympathizer, as far as my father is concerned)._

_I… I’m afraid that if we see each other at the Cup, you won’t like who you see. I’ve had to double down on… my old ways to convince him that I’m still a good little Slytherin._

_If I’m able to sneak away from them, I’ll let you know. Somehow. But if I can’t, I might try to steer him away from you lot if we see each other. I’m afraid he’d want me to demonstrate my aversion for muggle-borns… and I don’t want to do that._

_Draco_

_*_

_Draco_

_Harry said you wrote him a letter. That was very thoughtful of you. But don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone else. All your secrets are safe with me._

_So Ron’s father said he borrowed a three-bedroom tent… to fit all of us? I don’t understand what that means, exactly, but I’m intrigued to learn about the magic behind it. Harry might sleep in Sirius and Remus’ tent, but he said it’d also be fun to bunk with Ron and the twins, so it’s nice that he has options, I suppose._

_Apparently Sirius is rich. Did you know that?_

_I’ll understand if you need to act the part for your father. I wouldn’t judge you or doubt you. I know you’re truly a good person. But still, I understand if you try to avoid us._

_Hermione_

_*_

_Hermione,_

_I... actually do know how wealthy Sirius is. I’m the next in line to inherit the Black family fortune (my mother can’t inherit because she’s a woman-- I KNOW that will infuriate you, but I didn’t make the rules!), so my parents have been very avidly speculating about just how much money Sirius has. Their plan was for me to claim it once I came of age, since Sirius would have been in prison for over fifteen years at that point… it seems that there’s some obscure law stating that if a family fortune is left ‘vacant’ or ‘abandoned’ or something for too long, that the next in line can claim it._

_It’s quite a lot of money._

_It’s one of the many reasons they’re mad about Sirius getting his name cleared._

_I couldn’t be happier._

_Harry said that Sirius and Remus are living together? Good for them._

_Draco_

_*_

_Potter,_

_So does Sirius just apparate into your kitchen every morning to piss off your relatives? What have you been up to with your new god-dads?_

_Hermione told me that Weasley’s dad got tickets to the World Cup. Good on him._

_My father and I had a row - so if we see you all, we might be even more unpleasant than usual. I’ve found myself having to play the loyal Slytherin son lately… so maybe try to keep Weasley and Hermione away from us, alright?_

_I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I don’t know that I’ll be able to convincingly insult Hermione… but Weasley is such an easy target, and he rises to the bait so well._

_But still. I don’t want to actually cause problems._

_I just can’t let my dad suspect we’re actually friends. He was livid when I said that some muggle-borns might be as good as pure-blood wizards._

_Malfoy_

_*_

_Malfoy,_

_I’ll do what I can to keep them away from your dad. You can always insult me, if it’d make you feel better. I can prep myself and I promise I won’t be too devastated._

_Sirius was worried - apparently you were going to claim the Black fortune? He hopes that you aren’t mad at him. I told him you wouldn’t be, but he said I don’t understand how wealthy people look at money. He seems to think that you’re going to believe he robbed you or something._

_Also - and you’re never going to believe this - but Sirius comes to pick me up on a motorcycle! He knows how to ride a real muggle motorcycle! He even said he’d teach me how to ride it eventually, but Remus pointed out that I can’t do it until I’m 16._

_But Draco - you would love the motorcycle - it almost feels like flying, but… I don’t know. It’s kind of like how I imagine riding a dragon would feel._

_Anyway. Maybe we’ll see you at the World Cup._

_Potter_

_*_

Draco tried to convey his regret and apologies through his eyes, but he winced each time his father made some snide comment about the Weasleys or muggle-borns. He glanced under his eyelashes at Hermione on the opposite side of the box. 

He was trying to focus on the game in front of them, but he was too tense and stressed to be able to enjoy it. He was sitting no more than six feet away from his friends, but he couldn’t acknowledge them in front of his father without earning his wrath. 

Luckily, the ministers and a few other privileged spectators were in the box with them, so his father was keeping the worst of his comments to himself. 

Even though Draco had initially been so excited to find out that the World Cup would basically be in their backyard, now that it was here, he could barely even focus on the game itself. 

Ron and Harry were keeping up an almost constant stream of commentary, explaining what was happening to Hermione so she would understand. He wanted to laugh. She had sat through how many quidditch games at Hogwarts, and she still didn’t understand the complexity of the game? 

The Weasley twins also had their eyes glued to the field, although one of them occasionally glanced over at Draco. He couldn’t tell them apart, so he wasn’t sure which one it was. 

“I know their presence is unfortunate,” his father murmured, “but do try your best to ignore the Weasleys. I’m sure they’ve never experienced anything this extravagant before. Don’t lose focus, Draco.”

Draco glanced away from the twins and gulped, hoping that his cheeks wouldn’t color at being caught with his attention wandering. “Of course, father.”

*

Draco could have cried with relief when he recognized the trio running toward him near the treeline. He wrapped his arms around Hermione, “Come on.” 

“Draco,” she gasped out, wrapping one arm around his back and following his lead as they ran into the trees. 

Harry and Ron followed behind, casting glances over their shoulders as they ran. 

He brought them to a spot further away from the screaming. The four of them crouched down, in a hollow behind a large fallen tree trunk, panting. “Where are we?”

Draco shrugged. “Safe.”

“But what were they doing?” Harry asked, glancing around still. “Why--”

Hermione reached out and placed a hand over Draco’s trembling hands. 

He glanced up and had eyes only for her. “My parents were there.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked, standing up abruptly. “Are they--” He stopped when Hermione wrapped her other hand around his wrist. He looked at Draco, really looked, and realized that he was trembling and there were tears welling in his eyes. 

“They… they’re really Death Eaters,” he whispered. “Like. Real ones. They were at the front of the group. I think my dad was the one who cursed the muggles.” He looked back at Hermione with his wide eyes beseeching, “I keep convincing myself that they’ll come around… but… but they really won’t.”

She bit her lip and shook her head. 

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. 

“Do you think we’re safe enough here?” Ron asked softly after a moment. 

Draco looked around, wiping at his eyes quickly before replying. “I think so. I think everyone was headed in the opposite direction.”

“Then what are we doing here?” Harry asked, standing up. “We should go make sure everyone’s alright.”

“I want to find my dad and brothers,” Ron added.

Draco stared at them with wide eyes. “Now? We should wait until everything settles.”

“But we don’t know if they’re alright,” Ron protested angrily, rising to his feet. 

Draco jumped up and fiercely whispered. “You go then. You’d be safe. They won’t.” He pointed at Hermione and Harry. “We should stay here until we’re sure my god-damn parents won’t fucking hex our friends.”

Ron blanched and started to stammer. Draco turned around and collapsed to the ground next to Hermione again. He dropped his face into his hands and leaned forward. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer. After a moment’s hesitation, Harry settled down cross-legged across from the pair. Ron waited an additional moment before sitting a few paces away.

After a few minutes, Draco finally looked up and smiled faintly at Hermione. “I was so scared they might’ve come for you,” he whispered. He glanced up at Harry, who averted his eyes quickly, but not before Draco noticed him. “I don’t want to see you hexed either, Potter. We’re family now, after all, remember?”

Harry chuckled softly. “That’s right Malfoy.”

*

A few hours later, when things had finally quieted down, Draco relented and acknowledged that if they stayed in the woods much longer, it would start to be suspicious. 

“Will you go back to your parents’ tent?” Hermione asked softly. 

Draco pursed his lips. He had been pale and trembling for hours. He shook his head and looked around as they continued to pick their way through collapsed and abandoned tents. After a moment he picked up a mostly empty bottle of firewhiskey triumphantly.

Hermione raised her eyebrows in question. 

“I’ll wait until dawn and stumble back. If I got drunk partying, then that’ll explain where I’ve been.” He uncapped it and took a small swig and winced. “This is gross.”

Harry laughed humorlessly. “Good luck, Draco. Send us an owl when you get home, alright?”

Draco nodded before pulling Hermione in for a quick hug, the first that he ever initiated. “You lot too. I want to make sure you all get out of here too.”

The three all nodded before moving off toward their tents. Draco waited a moment longer before taking another small swig of the firewhiskey and turning to stumble in the opposite direction. 

*

_M_

_We’re all safe. R’s father and our mutual relative brought everyone home. You?_

_P_

_*_

_P_

_Things are bad here. Also I got yelled at for being a lush._

_Can’t wait until Sept 1._

_M._

_*_

_D._

_I heard about your letter._

_Thank you._

_For everything._

_H._

*

_H_

_I’d do it all again._

_A thousand times._

_D_


	8. Goblet of Fire (Year 4)

_Draco,_

_Level with me._

_How much trouble am I in?_

_Harry_

_*_

_Harry,_

_I’m assuming you’re asking me because everyone else has given you the whole “don’t worry, it’ll be alright” speech, right? Damn Gryffindors and their unending optimism._

_I’m glad that I’m your go-to friend for honest straight-talk._

_It’s not looking good, Potter, and I’m not even just saying that as someone who’s been trying to beat you at everything for the past few years._

_The reason the tournament was discontinued is because_ _too many_ _students died. Not one or two._ _Too many_ _._

_I think an honest goal should be to get your out of the tournament alive. I’m not even being pessimistic. The other three champions are all 17 - and honestly, I don’t even know how Krum is allowed to compete since he’s a world-famous professional quidditch player. They’ve each earned multiple OWLs and I know at least Diggory is well on his way to earning several NEWTs as well. I don’t know much about Delacour, honestly, but I’ll snoop. But also, based on the other two champions, I have to assume she’s highly competent as well._

_Harry, I don’t think you should have been chosen._

_I’m not saying this to make you feel bad. Honest. I’ve been trying to beat you for years and I haven’t succeeded yet, so it’s not that I’m underestimating you. I honestly don’t think that I could win the tournament now either. If we were sixth or seventh years? We’d stand a real chance. But we don’t know enough right now._

_I’m saying this because I think someone rigged this all. I think your name was put in there on purpose._

_And I’ll be damned if I sit by and let you get killed because some other wizard wants to say they beat The Boy Who Lived._

_That’s my job._

_Anyway, Hermione and I have been researching potential tasks._

_I’m not going to let you get killed until I’ve beaten you in a House Cup at least_ _once_ _._

_Draco_

*

Ron was waiting in the corridor outside of the Potions classroom and yanked Draco to the side as he walked past. 

“I forgot something,” Draco called up the hallway at Crabbe and Goyle, who had turned back to see why Draco wasn’t with them anymore, “I’ll catch up with you in the Common Room.” Draco waited until they turned and left before he faced Ron, who had stepped into the shadows when the other Slytherins looked back. “Well?”

“Why are you even helping compete in the Triwizard Tournament? You don’t even like him!”

Draco scoffed. “Whether I like him or not has nothing to do with this!” He waited a few seconds before adding, “But Potter isn’t so bad.”

Ron blinked a few times. “Then why?”

Draco breathed deeply and squinted. “Hermione asked me to. But also… it feels like somebody’s got it out for Harry. I… I wanted to beat him in the House Cup this year, but that was cancelled. And I wanted to beat him at Quidditch, but that was cancelled. And now he’s up against these sixth and seventh years? That’s just not fair.” Draco bit his lip. “I want to be the one to beat him, not them! I want to beat him in a fair fight. Not whatever this shitshow is.”

Ron actually laughed. 

“What?” Draco asked. 

“So you’re a git, you know that? But not like, a bad git. Just a git.”

Draco frowned. “Look, Potter and I fight sometimes, but I also don’t want him to be killed! I hope I’ve established by this point that I’m not a bad person. He’s in legitimate danger! People have died in the Triwizard Tournament before! And they’ve been people who have already gotten their OWLs and NEWTs - and Harry has potential and all, but he’s still not at the same level.”

*

_Draco,_

_Harry told me that you’ve been helping him research and prepare. Thank you. I wish I could do more than write letters. I’ve reached out to Dumbledore a dozen times, at least, and there’s nothing that can be done, apparently._

_I’ve been meaning to write to you for a long time now, but I keep getting distracted or making excuses._

_Harry claims that you’re not mad about me reclaiming the Black estates, but I’d truly understand if you were. I know that your family has no shortage of money or resources… but I also know that your particular friendships might strain the relationship and make it hard to ask for things._

_I’m assuming your parents don’t know. You won’t get any judgement from me._

_If you_ _ever_ _need anything and don’t want to ask your parents, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. You know there’s no way that Remus and I would ever be able to spend all this money. Whatever you need, is yours as soon as you let me know._

_Sirius_

*

“Draco!” 

Draco rolled his eyes, “What’s with you Gryffindors lying in wait and ambushing me in empty corridors?”

Harry frowned before gesturing at the empty classroom he was leaning out of. “Can I ask you a really serious… personal question?”

Draco looked around before following Harry, “Uh… isn’t that Ron’s job?”

Harry laughed nervously. “No… I don’t want to talk to him about it yet. He gets… too reactionary sometimes.”

Draco nodded and smirked, “I’ve noticed.”

“So I was thinking about asking someone to the dance,” Harry said, “but… I don’t know, because we’ve almost never actually talked, outside of like, quidditch or stuff for the Triwizard competition… and I kind of wanted to ask them, but I don’t know how they’d react.”

Draco waited a few seconds before widening his eyes. “Do you want to tell me who it is, or should I guess?”

“I… uh… Cedric mentioned the other day that he didn’t have a date yet.”

Draco’s eyes went even wider. “Go for it, Potter. You’ll break about a million girl’s hearts, but go for it.”

“You think he’ll say yes?”

Draco shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe. I dunno. But you’ll never find out if you don’t ask.” 

Harry nodded and chewed on a fingernail. 

“I didn’t realize you’re gay,” Draco added softly. “Thanks for trusting me and all, but why did you come to me and not Weasley or Hermione?”

Harry laughed. “Well, because you think I’m a fool at least half the time anyway. I figured it’d be easier to take you judging me than Ron or Hermione.”

Draco nodded with pursed lips. “Well, I suppose I deserve that.”

“Also, I think I’m bi, not gay,” Harry said softly. “I mean… I think I am… but…”

“What, because you’ve never kissed anyone, you’re not sure?” Draco asked with a wry grin. “I’ve never kissed a guy before, but I’m sure I’m bi.” 

“You are?” Harry snorted and shrugged, eyes wide. “It’s weird. It just feels… theoretical. I mean… I guess that’s what it is, right? Like, I know I like girls… and I kind of feel the same way about a lot of guys--”

Draco interrupted Harry by leaning in and kissing him firmly on the lips. Harry froze for a minute before softening and leaning in closer to Draco. A few seconds later, Draco pulled back and chuckled softly.

“There. How did that feel?”

Harry blinked a few times before grinning. “Alright… so… definitely bi, then, yea? But… Malfoy…uh...”

“You’re not my type, Potter,” Draco said with a grin. “I’m almost entirely interested in geniuses with gorgeously long, curly hair.”

Harry licked his lips and nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

“Hey, um… maybe don’t tell her I kissed you?” Draco asked, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Harry laughed, “We’ll wait a few years, and then it’ll be a funny anecdote.”

*

_Hermione,_

_I’m a coward. I’m a coward for a lot of reasons._

  * _I’m writing you a letter instead of talking about this face-to-face_


  * _I’m letting fear of my father dictate my life_


  * _I’m making excuses_



_Really, those are the main reasons, I think. But essentially, here’s what I’m a coward about:_

_I want to ask you to the Winter Ball._

_But I don’t think I should. I don’t think I can. I don’t think it would be responsible. I don’t think it would be fair to you to expose you to the ridicule of my family and my House. And I don’t think it’s fair that I feel like I can’t do the thing I most want to do._

_But not only am I a coward, I’m also selfish._

_I could have just stayed silent about all of this. But… maybe part of me wants your reassurance. Or maybe part of me thinks you can figure out a solution to all of the terrible drama my family can cause. Or maybe you’ll just tell me to shut up because you wouldn’t go to the Winter Ball with me even if you could. Honestly, I’m at the point where I don’t know what would be worse… that you would want to go with me, but I’m right and we can’t… or you wouldn’t want to go with me because of… everything._

_Maybe I won’t even send this to you. Maybe I’ll just burn it. It definitely isn’t my most cohesive bit of correspondence._

_Draco_

*

_Draco,_

_Thank you for that letter. Please know that I share all of your wishes and I understand all of your concerns. As much as I don’t like it, I think we should agree to go to the Yule Ball with different people._

_But I want a dance._

_I think we should be able to get away with one dance, right?_

_Do you know who Harry’s asking to the Ball, by the way? He hasn’t told anyone, but he implied that he talked to you about it…_

_Hermione_

*

Draco made eye contact with Hermione as she entered the ballroom and he froze. 

“She came with Krum?” He breathed out. 

Blaise chuckled next to him. “Bloke. You lose all subtlety when she’s around.”

Draco glanced at Blaise and smiled faintly. “That’s why I asked you to be my date tonight. You’re here to keep me from making a fool of myself.”

“I’m trying,” Blaise said, linking his arm through Draco’s. “Want to take bets on who the rest of the Champions are bringing?”

Draco smirked. “It wouldn’t be fair. I already know who Potter’s going with.”

Blaise shot a glance at Draco, his expression changing to surprise briefly before settling back into his characteristic bored look. 

Delacour came next with a seventh-year Ravenclaw on her arm. Draco and Blaise both shrugged before looking around the room. Draco caught Ron’s eye; he was awkwardly standing next to a blonde girl that Draco thought was in Ravenclaw, as well as his sister and Neville. 

The room hushed suddenly and Draco glanced back toward the entrance. 

Harry was standing there, arm in arm with Cedric. 

Cedric grinned down at Harry before they both stepped forward into the room. The crowd burst out into buzzing talk, and Draco could hear several people around him reacting in either surprise or confusion. 

“I’m glad you didn’t rob me,” Blaise said. “I never in a million years would have guessed.” He paused for a moment, watching the students move so they can make room in the center for the Champions to dance. “You going to leave me so you can dance with Granger at some point?”

Draco smirked, “I might try to steal one with Potter too, if you don’t mind.”

Blaise shrugged. “I promised Pansy I’d dance with her at some point.”

“Perfect,” Draco said, eyeing Hermione and Krum as they started dancing. 

When all of the other students joined the dance, Draco led Blaise so they were dancing near Ron and his blond date. 

“My, what handsome robes you’ve got there, Weasley,” Draco commented. 

Ron looked up and blushed, while squinting at Draco. “They appeared in my room this morning,” he explained. “And the card said, ‘From the Black family.’ Except I know for a fact that Harry has been too stressed to write to Sirius about my clothing woes.”

Draco shrugged. “Maybe Sirius is just a very thoughtful man.”

“Hmmm,” Ron murmured.

“I think he looks very dashing,” Ron’s date said. “He looks quite like an Umgubular Slashkilter, although much more handsome, of course.”

The three boys all stared at her in surprise for a moment before Ron managed to rouse himself. “Um… this is Luna Lovegood,” he managed. 

“And you’re Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini,” Luna said. “Yes. I’ve seen you around school.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Blaise said smoothly, bowing slightly. 

Luna giggled and curtsied. “Does your mother really use Crumble-fanged Octopillars to dispatch all of her husbands?”

Blaise laughed loudly and held out his hand, “I’m sorry to admit I’ve never heard that rumor before. Would you care to dance and explain it to me?”

“Gladly,” Luna said with a wide grin. 

Draco stepped next to Ron and they watched for a moment as Luna animatedly started talking while Blaise led her through a dance. “She’s ah, interesting,” Draco observed. Ron grunted. “And quite pretty.”

“Is she?” Ron asked, distractedly. “Oh, yes, she is. Draco,” he said, turning to face him suddenly, “you knew Harry was coming with Cedric.”

“I did,” Draco confirmed. 

Ron bit his lip. “He didn’t tell me until earlier today. And he said he wanted to ‘soften the blow.’”

Draco nodded. “He was a little worried you’d react poorly.”

“I don’t think I… I don’t think I reacted well earlier,” Ron admitted. 

“Dance with me,” Draco said, reaching for Ron’s hand. 

“What? Now?”

Draco’s grin hardened. “Yes, now.” He grabbed Ron’s hand and led him to the dance floor so they could start dancing. “Are you against two blokes… dancing… or were you just surprised by what Harry told you?”

“Um… I think I was mostly surprised,” Ron said slowly. He was clearly paying attention to his feet while they danced, and Draco had counted on the challenge of multitasking on Ron’s part to keep him honest. “I guess I was also surprised at it being Cedric. He’s a lot older than Harry.”

Draco nodded. “He is. I don’t think they’re dating… I think it’s just for the dance, but I’m proud of Harry for asking someone he wanted to. That was really brave.”

Ron looked over Draco’s shoulder thoughtfully for a moment. “Yea. It was.”

*

The week after Christmas break, Blaise intercepted Draco in the hallway when he was on the way to meet up with Hermione, Harry, and Ron to prepare for the next challenge. 

“So I imagine that your father can’t be happy that you’re helping Harry,” Blaise observed dryly. Draco forced himself to shrug carelessly. Blaise didn’t know the full extent of his friendship with the Gryffindors, but he also didn’t particularly care, which was why Draco had asked him to accompany him to the Yule Ball. Blaise didn’t have the same hold-ups with pure-blood that a lot of the other Slytherins had. He was much more mercenary than that. He looked for advantage in any possible avenue and didn’t allow himself to be limited by blood. 

Draco really appreciated that about him.

“I have an idea,” Blaise continued. “We’re going to form inter-house study squads. Researchers will volunteer from each house to help both of our candidates. I’ve already talked to a couple Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. They all admitted that, while they want Cedric to win, they do feel bad for Harry since he’s at such an obvious disadvantage. And they can’t oppose Harry getting help if Cedric gets the same help too.” Blaise smirked at Draco, “And your father can’t complain about us trying to ensure that Hogwarts wins.”

“Not publicly, at least,” Draco confirmed, a wide grin growing. “Blaise, you’re a genius.”

“I claim Luna as a study partner, by the way” Blaise added almost as an afterthought. “She’s a little batty, but in all of the best ways.”

Draco eyed him for a moment. “Have you spoken to any of the Gryffindors about this?”

Blaise chuckled, “Nah, that’s for you to work out. I’m not going to do all the legwork. Anyway, let me know when you get the Gryffindors to agree.”

*

“Blaise suggested that?” Harry asked, looking around in confusion. “Why?”

“Well, obviously he has a lot of reasons,” Draco pointed out. “Blaise never does anything for a single, simple reason. And basically every single reason will benefit him in some way, even if it’s in a convoluted or complex way.”

“He wants to help you or Cedric win,” Ron observed. “That one’s pretty easy. If Hogwarts wins, it makes the whole school look good, so that would benefit him.”

“And if he builds and coordinates some inter-house community of research and support, that’ll make him look good because it shows that he’s a strong leader,” Hermione pointed out. “And it’ll help him to build friendships and alliances across with wizards and witches from all different houses and all different years.”

“Plus,” Draco added, “he’s helping me.” Harry and Ron both stared at Draco blankly. He smirked at them. “So, first, I’ll be indebted to him, which… well, basically I’ll owe him a favor in the future that he can call in whenever. But secondly, and this one is honestly a much bigger deal, but that means he’s siding with me instead of my father.” 

Harry did a ‘ _so what?’_ gesture, so Hermione leaned forward to explain. “Harry, that means that he’s opposing Voldemort and the older generation of Death Eaters. He’s proposing something that will benefit him, and the others involved, but it’s also being accepting and accommodating of wizards and witches based on their talent and knowledge, not based on their blood.”

“Plus, they said you can’t get any official help from professors or anything. They didn’t say there can’t be study groups that just so happen to maybe help you,” Draco pointed out.

“So basically you’re all saying that we’d be fools to not accept his offer?” Harry asked. 

“Yes,” Draco confirmed. “Plus, I bet that Cedric will like getting some help and knowing that it’s all fair,” he added with a small smirk.

Harry looked down at his hands and Draco bet that a blush would be visible on his cheeks if they were paler. “Alright. We’ll talk to some folks and see who will pair up with the other houses. You lot are going to help me, though, right?”

“Like you’d be able to get rid of us,” Ron scoffed. 

*

The minutes had stretched on like hours since Harry and Cedric had simultaneously touched the trophy and disappeared. 

Dumbledore had removed all of the maze hedges instantly, and the crowds had been tensely milling around while the judges, heads of houses, and headmasters tried to figure out what had happened. 

Draco and Hermione’s had been clutching each other’s hands for long minutes, and they had pushed their way back to Sirius and Remus’ sides. They were both obviously worried, but Dumbledore had waved for them to remain with the crowds. They had been whispering rapidly to each other when Hermione and Draco appeared by their sides, and Ron had showed up only seconds later. 

“We don’t know anything either,” Remus had said while Sirius scanned the competition area as if looking for clues. 

It felt like hours later, but was probably less than half an hour when Harry suddenly popped back onto the field, gasping while clutching the trophy in one arm and cradling Cedric with the other. 

Screams went up throughout the crowd as people rushed toward Harry. Sirius leapt over the barrier and was running toward Harry as fast as he could. Hermione sagged against Draco in relief, but he started trembling. “Something’s wrong with Cedric,” he said abruptly. 

Remus did a double-take. “He hasn’t moved,” he breathed out. “Oh no.”

Hermione watched as Cedric’s father arrived next to Sirius, who immediately put his arms around him as the man collapsed to his knees and started screaming. 

“What happened?” Ron asked weakly. “Is he dead?”

Remus nodded faintly, “He must be. But… how?”

Professor Moody rose from the crowd, carrying Harry in his arms, and hurried toward the castle as Professor Dumbledore raised his arms, “Please, please, let me speak. There has clearly been fowl play, and it has resulted in an unfortunate tragedy. We are just beginning to investigate what has happened, but if the allegations are true, I am deeply, deeply troubled. For now, I want to ask everyone to please return to your respective sleeping quarters. Please, do not leave the Hogwarts grounds this evening. We need to continue our investigations and I promise at breakfast tomorrow morning I will share more information.”

The crowd burst into murmurs, but Hermione watched as Sirius grabbed onto Professor McGonnagal’s sleeve and whispered quickly into her ear. She turned and spoke to Professor Dumbledore, and then the three of them hurried toward the castle. 

“I don’t like any of this,” Remus muttered, his voice just barely carrying over the sound of everyone in the crowd talking to the people near them. “Come on.”

“But… we’re supposed to,” Ron started. 

“Stay close,” Remus said again, and the three of them stuck to his heels as he began navigating through the crowd. Hermione had to hold in a gasp as she realized who Remus was steadfastly approaching. Professor Snape. “Severus,” Remus said. His voice was soft, but it somehow came through as strong and firm. “Tell me.”

Professor Snape’s eyes widened at the sight of Remus and the students trailing him. “It happened.”

Remus’ face pinched together, but he nodded before glancing back at Hermione, Ron, and Draco. “And Harry?” He asked, turning back to Snape. “They suspect Moody?”

“Imperio or Polyjuice,” Severus confirmed as he searched the crowd behind Remus. “Come on,” he said, gesturing at the group. “You all need to get into the castle.”

“But, Professor,” Hermione started, but was interrupted.

“Not a word, Granger. This is bigger than you right now.” Draco opened his mouth to protest, but Snape continued, although somewhat softer, “Draco. Not now.”

Once they were inside the main doors, Professor Snape caught Remus’ arm and placed a small bottle in his hand. “Tell Dumbledore.” Remus nodded before Snape turned and went back into the darkness. 

“Tell him what?” Draco whispered fervently. 

Remus sighed. “We’ll tell you all later. First, we have to find Harry.”

They raced through the corridors and by the time they found them, Sirius was holding Harry, who was clutching at the front of his robes, tears staining his cheeks. 

Dumbledore was directing a few Professors and Ministry officials when he saw Remus and the group of students arrive. He excused himself softly before coming over to them. He stared down expectantly at Remus. 

“Severus confirmed it. He needed to leave. He also gave me this.”

“Of course,” Dumbledore agreed softly as he took the bottle before raising his voice ever so slightly, “I’m sure once he’s finished checking that the grounds are safe, he’ll return.”

“Sir?” Hermione asked softly, peering across the room at Harry. 

Dumbledore sighed. “Alas, it turns out Professor Moody was an impostor. We got a full confession out of him, but it was very regretful that he tried to further traumatize Harry after everything he went through tonight.” He made a slight pushing gesture. “I’m sure he needs the comfort of his friends now.”

The three students nodded before going over and settling around Sirius and Harry. Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry from the back and rested her head on his shoulder. Draco and Ron both patted his shoulders, but otherwise just remained near him. 

After a few minutes, Harry finally lifted his head. “Voldemort killed him,” he whispered. “Cedric. He didn’t even look at him. He didn’t care who he was. He just wasn’t _me_.”

“Voldemort used Harry’s blood to perform a complex Dark spell to return fully and create a corporeal body,” Sirius explained softly. 

Remus came over and rested a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Albus made up one of the guest chambers for us,” he told Sirius. “There’s a second bedroom there if you’d like some privacy tonight, Harry. And Madame Pomfrey offered a dreamless sleeping potion.”

Harry glanced up at Remus, “Thanks. That actually sounds perfect.”

“And you guys can come visit us for breakfast in the morning,” Remus suggested, looking at Hermione, Ron, and Draco. “Albus promised to release more information in the morning, so there’s not much to do before then anyway, and you should try to get some sleep. I’m sure that the train will be coming a little early this year.”

The trio each hugged Harry again before they were directed out of the room. Draco glanced back over his shoulder and saw Harry walking slowly down the hallway with Sirius and Remus on either side of him. They both had their arms draped around him, and he was resting his head on Sirius’ shoulder.

Draco turned himself back around and steeled himself. Harry had the support he needed. Now all Draco needed to do was go back to the Slytherin Common Room, which he was sure was going to be swarming with confused and giddy students who would ply him for information, none of which he would give. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so sorry for killing Cedric still--but in the books Harry is motivated by his angst A LOT and I'm keeping Sirius and making him a much more major and supportive part of Harry's life, and the angst had to come from somewhere. 
> 
> Also... don't assume anyone is straight.


	9. Summer between Years 4 and 5

_H._

_I’m home now. Things are different. Padfoot’s god-son was right. I can’t do anything about it now. Don’t write back. It would be too dangerous for both of us. I’ll try to figure something out._

_Tell the rest, please?_

_D._

*

A few weeks later a brief message was delivered to Draco from a nondescript post owl.

_How is Dobby doing?_

Draco recognized Hermione’s handwriting. He knew that she wouldn’t have risked sending an owl without a deeper meaning behind everything. After a few minutes of pensive thought, he summoned Dobby. 

“Dobby, I want to ask you to help me, but it’s dangerous.”

“Dobby would do anything to help you, Master Draco.”

Draco pursed his lips. “I want to set you free, Dobby.”

“No!” Dobby sobbed, dropping to his knees. “Why, Master? Haven’t I--”

Draco grabbed his hands, “Shhhhhh. It’s part of my plan. If you’re free, father can’t force you to do anything, and he can’t hurt you. I don’t want to risk your safety or your life.” Dobby burst into tears and Draco held him, shushing him.

“Master Draco is the most thoughtful person ever,” Dobby sobbed.

“Look, Dobby. Let me tell you my plan.”

*

_Pop_

Hermione startled slightly and almost spilled the salad she was bringing to the table. Both her parents leaned into the kitchen and their eyebrows shot up at Dobby’s appearance. 

“Hermione Granger!” The house elf cried happily as he came over to her. 

“Dobby,” Hermione greeted him, kneeling down so they’d be the same height. “You certainly look much fancier than you did the last time I saw you.”

“It’s Master Draco,” he explained, smiling widely even though his eyes glistened with unshed tears. “He’s the kindest person ever. Did you know that he freed me and is insisting on paying me? Dobby really is the luckiest house elf in the world.”

“Oh, Dobby, that’s magnificent,” Hermione said, turning him slightly. “Can I introduce you to my parents?”

Dobby’s lip trembled as he nodded. “This is my mother, Chioma, and my father, Jeremy. Mom, Dad, I’ve told you about Dobby before.”

They both nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Dobby,” her mother said after a moment’s hesitation. 

“It is such a pleasure to meet you,” Dobby said, hurrying over to shake first Hermione’s mother’s hands and then her father’s. “I have never been introduced to parents before, and I have never been introduced to muggles. This is all quite interesting and new for me.”

“It’s quite new for us as well,” Jeremy laughed. 

“Hermione Granger!” Dobby said, twirling on the spot. “I cannot believe I almost forgot! I have a message for you. A very important message for you, from Master Draco. He is giving me such an important job of delivering these messages. He is placing such trust in me.”

“It’s because you’re very trustworthy,” Hermione answered solemnly. 

Dobby carefully pulled a parchment scroll out of the small bag he had slung across his chest. “And next I am going to the house of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, and then, if Harry Potter is not there, I am going to his muggle house. Then Master Draco told me to take a rest and eat something, if I am hungry, before I check to see if you all have written responses. He is so thoughtful,” Dobby finished with a wistful sigh. 

“Yes, he is quite wonderful,” Hermione agreed as she unrolled the parchment. “Dobby, would you like anything before you go to Sirius’ house?”

Dobby hesitated, but didn’t answer, so her mother stepped forward. “We were just about to eat lunch, and you can certainly join us. Or if you’d just like a cup of tea, we can fix it for you. Or even just a glass of water. Whatever you’d like.”

Dobby burst into tears. Hermione’s parents both stepped back in alarm, but Hermione reached an arm out to wrap it around Dobby’s thin shoulders. “There, there, Dobby, please don’t cry.”

Between sobs, Dobby explained, “Master… Lucius… always… said… muggles… were… savage… but you treat me like an equal and… I have never been so happy… Master Draco… has the best friends ever!”

Hermione’s mother had stepped into the kitchen while Dobby sobbed, and came back a moment later with the child-sized teacup Hermione had used as a child, “Here, darling, have a cup.”

Dobby took it with trembling fingers. “Thank you, Chioma Granger. You are so kind.”

As Draco sipped at the tea, Hermione unrolled the parchment and greedily read through it.

_Hermione,_

_You are a genius, although we all know that already._

_Thank you for suggesting Dobby help us. I hope you approve of my solution. I was reluctant to put him at risk, but I think this really will have the best possible outcome._

_Because he’s free now he isn’t bound to our family, so you’ll be able to summon him whenever you want simply by calling his name. I’m not entirely sure how house elf magic works, but he won’t activate your Trace Charm unless he does more complex magic, which he knows about so he’ll be careful._

_I miss you so much._

_Things are stunningly tense here, although there hasn’t been a single quiet moment since I returned home. The Dark Lord is making his presence known in many different circles, and he is apparently quite displeased with my parents, among many others, who weren’t “loyal” enough. My parents have, luckily, kept me all but locked inside my room. I think they’re worried that I’ll get them in trouble if one of the more loyal Death Eaters heard me speak, as if I’d say anything thoughtless in front of one of them._

_I’m just beyond grateful that I haven’t encountered the Dark Lord himself yet. I think he’s been in the Manor several times already._

_I don’t know what I would do._

_I’m also shocked that the Daily Prophet hasn’t written anything about this - other than briefly mentioning that the Triwizard Tournament is permanently cancelled because of Cedric’s tragic death--but they didn’t say anything about HOW he died or WHO killed him. What’s with that? Does Ron’s father have any insight?_

_You have no idea how happy I am at the idea of being about to exchange letters again. I’ve been going half out of my mind here alone._

_Draco_

She looked up finally and blinked at her mother and Dobby, both of whom were watching her. “I’m sorry, did I miss something?”

“Dobby just asked if you wanted him to wait while you wrote a response, or to come back later,” her mother said with a knowing smile. 

“Oh!” Hermione responded, patting her hair absently. “Would you mind coming back later, Dobby? I don’t want to rush. Draco wrote such a long letter that I’d like to write something thoughtful in response.”

“You are very considerate,” Dobby answered with a squeak. “Master Draco will be very excited to get a long letter from you. I will come back later, after I have found Harry Potter.”

“Thank you, Dobby.”

Dobby nodded and then disappeared. 

*

_Pop_

“Oh good!” Dobby squealed. “You’re both here!”

Sirius, Remus, and Harry all exchanged glances. They were all seated on the couch watching tv. Harry had been surprised to see a tv set in their house, but Remus explained that his mother had always liked to have one in the house, since she was a muggle, and Sirius had always loved anything that would anger his mother. 

Harry was glad because Sirius and Remus were glad to let Harry have free reign to watch whatever he wanted, a privilege that he had almost never had in his life. 

“Hi Dobby,” Harry said, leaning forward quickly. “Do you know Sirius and Remus?”

“I saw Sirius Black once,” Dobby explained with a grin. “When he was young and he attended Mas--- Lucius and Narcissa’s wedding.”

Sirius nodded slightly, although he didn’t look like he recognized Dobby. 

“I have good news,” Dobby continued proudly. “I have messages from Master Draco.” He pulled out two rolls of parchment and handed one each to Sirius and Harry. “And Master Draco set me free! This way, now that I'm free, I'll be able to help him and Harry Potter, sir, so that they can fight He Who Must Not Be Named and Master Lucius cannot punish me. Master Draco gave me this very handsome outfit and bag for carrying the parchments, and he is even paying me! I am the luckiest elf in the world.”

“He’s paying you?” Sirius asked, leaning forward. 

Dobby pointed at the letter Sirius was holding. “I believe he explains everything in the letter, sir.”

Sirius quickly read through his letter before handing it to Remus and looking up at Harry. “It appears that we’re all paying Dobby,” he commented with a wry smile.

“You?” Dobby squeaked. “Master Draco said he… he would pay me.”

Harry reached out and patted Dobby’s shoulder gently. “He is, Dobby, don’t worry. Remember how Draco was supposed to inherit the Black family money?” Dobby nodded slowly. “Sirius is sharing it with Draco, this way he doesn’t have to rely on his father’s money.”

Sirius leaned forward. “Dobby, did Draco explain just how serious all of this is? Did he explain how much trouble he will be in if you get caught?”

Dobby nodded. “I am allowed to lie and pretend, as long as it will protect Master Draco and Harry Potter. I am allowed to do whatever magic I think necessary to do that too, but I can’t do any complex magic near Harry Potter or Hermione Granger, because of their Trace Charms.” Dobby looked guiltily at Harry as he continued, “Master Draco invited me to be thoughtful and creative, although he told me I shouldn’t do anything drastic without consulting himself, Hermione Granger, or Harry Potter. He said if one of you three isn’t available, that I can trust Master Sirius Black or Remus Lupin.”

“I’m glad I made the list eventually,” Remus murmured under his breath and Harry chuckled. 

“Dobby, listen,” Sirius said, leaning forward even further. “If Voldemort finds out what you’re doing, he’ll kill you without hesitation. If one of his Death Eaters, including Draco’s father, finds out what you’re doing, they’ll likely try to kill you without hesitation. If any of them find out that Draco has set you free, they’ll likely kill you and then do something drastic to punish him. I need to be sure that you understand the severity of what Draco is risking, and what he’s asking you to risk by doing this.”

“I understand, sir,” Dobby warbled in his lowest tone. “Draco explained, very thoroughly, before he set me free.”

Sirius continued to talk quietly with Dobby, so Harry unrolled his letter from Draco and read it quietly. 

_Potter,_

_I think that a lot of our friendship has been based on bickering and teasing each other… and I just don’t have anything right now._

_I’m finding myself at a loss for words._

_I want to say that I hope you’re doing alright, but I know that there’s no way you are._

_I want to say words of comfort, but I don’t have any._

_I’m scared out of my wits, and I haven’t even seen the things you have._

_How are you holding up?_

_Malfoy_

_*_

Harry spent the next few weeks either laying on Sirius’ couch watching tv or stuck home with the Dursleys. He found it absolutely intolerable to be inside though when he was with the Dursleys, so he had taken to going for long rambling walks around the neighborhood. When he spent too long in his bedroom alone, he just kept reliving that night. 

The way Cedric had grinned at him when they agreed to grab the trophy at the same time. 

The way Cedric had grabbed his arm as they’d been torn apart and put back together in the cemetery. 

The way Cedric had stepped in front of him to shield him from the threat, even before he knew what was happening. 

The way Cedric’s hair had glowed green with the light of the spell.

The way Cedric’s body had crumpled lifelessly at his feet.

But when Harry was outside, he could look at the blue sky and remember how the wind felt on his face when he was flying. Flying was freedom. Flying reminded him of laughing with Ron and the twins at the burrow. Flying reminded him of catching the snitch. Flying reminded him of competing against the other seekers. Flying reminded him of Cedric, who was almost as good of a flyer as he was. 

Cedric, who had grinned at him, wide and happy, before they grabbed the trophy and everything went to hell. 

Cedric, who would never fly again.

Alright, Harry thought to himself, maybe being outside wasn’t dramatically better than being trapped inside the Dursley’s house, but at least when he was walking he felt like he was doing something. 

At Sirius and Remus’ house, it was nice to have a place he could just be himself. He could lay on the couch and watch tv and not talk the whole day, and nobody made any snide comments about him moping, like Dudley did. 

At Sirius and Remus’ house, it was nice to talk about Voldemort, and the Order of the Phoenix, which was officially starting back up again, just like it had in the first Wizarding War. Sirius and Remus told him about a lot of the things they and the rest of the Order were trying to do. Sirius and Remus shared Harry’s frustrations that the Ministry wasn’t officially doing anything. 

At Sirius and Remus’ house, Harry could talk about Hermione, and Ron, and Draco. He could talk about Dobby and Hogwarts. He could talk about his classes and quidditch and whatever he wanted to. 

At the beginning of the summer, Sirius and Remus had made a point to both spend a lot of time with Harry, but after a few weeks, they’d started getting busier with work for Dumbledore. Sirius had still picked Harry up every morning, but then either he or Remus would usually leave for most of the day. There were even a few times when Sirius would drop him off at their house and then they’d both leave for a few hours. 

Harry didn’t mind. He was happier at their house than he was at the Dursleys. 

He didn’t really enjoy being alone, and sometimes, when it got really bad, he’d call Dobby and talk to him. Dobby was in and out all summer, carrying messages between himself, Draco, Hermione, and Ron. And the thing that Harry enjoyed almost as much was that Dobby would describe what he was doing when he visited them. 

Hermione’s family usually gave him tea, which he enjoyed immensely. 

Ron’s family seemed both impressed and confused by his presence. 

Harry always shared whatever snack was at hand, which always made Dobby happy. 

But then Sirius and Remus apparently had to do something for Dumbledore that might take a few days, and they had both been highly apologetic about it. Harry had shrugged and forced himself to smile. 

“I’ll be fine,” he had said. “Plus, I won’t have any excuse not to read that book Hermione sent me. It’ll be good.”

Neither Sirius nor Remus had seemed particularly convinced by Harry’s reassurance, but they had both hugged him tightly. 

“I promise I’ll come back for you as soon as I can,” Sirius had promised. 

That had been four days ago. 

Harry had finished Hermione’s book on the third day. 

He had been arguing with Dudley even more, and Harry couldn’t resist but make fun of him at the swings earlier, and then Dudley had followed after him as he walked back to the house, egging him on the whole way. 

Harry lifted his head with a small smile as he heard a motorcycle coming toward him. 

“Oh good,” Dudley said, partially out of breath from trying to keep up with Harry’s brisk pace. “Your weirdo new dad can take you off our hands. Maybe you can have a sleepover there, so I can get some peace at night.”

“What are you getting on about?” Harry snapped. 

“You keep crying in your sleep,” Dudley responded. “About your boyfriend, Cedric. ‘Don’t kill Cedric! Don’t kill Cedric!’” He mimicked in a high-pitched whiny voice. 

“Shut up!” Harry shouted, twirling to point a finger in Dudley’s face. “Don’t you talk about him!”

“Who? Cedric? He’s real?” Dudley asked, coming up short. 

“Of course he’s fucking real,” Harry said. “You think I’m having nightmares about a made-up person?”

“I don’t know. Everything about you is weird,” Dudley responded with a shrug, even though he was still eyeing Harry cautiously. “Wait, were you really dating him? It’s only fun to tease you if he wasn’t actually your boyfriend.”

Harry stared wildly at Dudley for a moment before turning on his heel and walking back toward the house, where he could hear Sirius’ motorcycle idling. “How does that make any sense?”

“Well, I mean, if you’re actually gay, then calling you gay isn’t a good insult. I’d have to find something else.”

“Being gay isn’t an insult,” Harry retorted. “So my sexuality doesn’t matter at all, because there’s nothing wrong with being gay.”

“Oh,” Dudley said slowly. “I guess I didn’t think about it like that. Wait, Cedric isn’t actually dead, though, right?”

“Why, it’s only fun to mock me if he’s still alive?” Harry demanded.

“Well, yea, duh,” Dudley answered. “If he’s really dead, like, if you watched someone get murdered. That’s fucked up.”

Harry spun and faced Dudley again. “You’re right. It is fucked up. And that’s exactly what happened. Which is why I’ve been ‘moping’ all summer, which you’ve mocked me for a million times already. And why I’ve been having nightmares all summer, which you’ve also mocked me for. So I’m super sorry that my life is apparently too pathetic for you to feel comfortable making fun of. I’ll try to give you better source material for bullying me next summer!”

“Wait, hold up,” Dudley stepped in front of Harry and held his hands up to make him pause too. They were near the end of the alley and Harry knew that if he just took a few more steps he’d be able to see Sirius. “You actually saw someone get murdered at school? What kind of fucking place do they send you? Have you told my parents? I know they don’t like you at all, but you don’t have to go back there, if that kind of thing happens there.”

“Duds… what?” Harry did a double take, looking into his cousin’s face to see if he was being serious. “This wasn’t like, a normal thing. It’s just… this… wizard terrorist… was trying to kill me… and Cedric got in the way because he was trying to protect me...” Dudley’s eyes widened as Harry spoke. “I’m not explaining myself well.”

“Some wizard dude is trying to kill you?” Dudley’s voice had gone up a few octaves. “Harry, that’s serious.”

“I am aware of that,” Harry muttered, rubbing at his scar, as it throbbed for the millionth time that summer. 

“What… what are you doing?” Dudley asked suddenly, looking around frantically. 

Harry also realized that the sky had suddenly darkened and the temperature had dropped drastically. 

“Sirius!” Harry shouted suddenly, grabbing at Dudley’s arm and pushing him toward the street. “Come on!”

Dudley stumbled after Harry as he ran the few feet toward the full street. He glanced over his shoulder and almost tripped when he saw three dementors gliding toward them. 

Sirius collided with them on the sidewalk, his wand already out. “ _Expecto… expecto… patronum…”_ Sirius gasped, eyes wide, and clutched at his chest. “Harry…”

Harry reached out his hand to take Sirius’ and spun, _“Expecto Patronum!”_ A silvery stag burst out of his wand tip and ran toward the dementors, who turned and fled. A moment later, the stars became visible again and the heat of the summer came back. 

“What the fuck was all that?” Dudley demanded. 

“What the fuck were they doing here?” Sirius asked faintly. “Harry, give me your wand. Come on, we have to get into your house.”

Harry handed over his wand without hesitation and grabbed at Dudley’s arm again. He was trembling and looking around. “Duds, they’re gone. I’m sorry. We’ll go home and get you some chocolate and you’ll feel better, I promise.”

Sirius grinned. “You must have had a really good DADA teacher the year you learned about dementors.”

Harry laughed shortly. “The best. Why do you need my wand?”

“Because I need to be able to prove that I’m the one who cast that spell,” Sirius answered shortly. “It definitely activated your Trace Charm, and the Ministry is not going to be happy. Dobby?”

* _pop*_

Dobby looked around and blanched at the street. “Master Sirius? We’re… in public?”

Sirius waved his wand quickly and handed the parchment that fell to Dobby. “I need this to go to Dumbledore immediately. It’s an emergency. Can you do that?”

Dobby’s eyes widened and he nodded, tucking the parchment in his small satchel.

* _pop*_

“What… was that?” Dudley asked softly. 

“Come on,” Harry said, picking up the pace slightly. “We’ll explain everything. After the chocolate.”

They bustled Dudley in through the front door and past Uncle Vernon, who instantly started yelling about Sirius not being welcome in the house. 

Sirius pointed his wand into Uncle Vernon’s face, which immediately silenced him. “We’re dealing with a situation. I promise, Harry and I want to leave exactly as much as you want us to. And we will as soon as we’re able to. But there’s at least one owl coming for Harry, and it’s going to come here. It’s imperative that we don’t miss it. So sit down.”

Uncle Vernon sat silently, even though he was red in the face. 

“What’s wrong with my Didders?” Aunt Petunia asked. 

“Low blood sugar!” Harry shouted as he pushed Dudley into the kitchen. He went to the cabinet and pulled out one of Uncle Vernon’s favorite chocolate bars, tore it open and handed it to Dudley. “Eat the entire thing, right now.” 

Dudley nodded slowly and obediently took a bite. After a moment, he raised his hand and pointed at the kitchen window. “You might want to open that.”

Harry and Sirius both spun, realizing that an owl was perched on the sill outside. Harry tore open the letter and laughed helplessly upon reading his expulsion notice. Sirius’ face darkened. “Dumbledore’s on it. It will be reversed,” he declared. “Go pack your things. You’re coming home with me tonight. I’ll handle this.” He turned to the owl that was preparing to leave, “You wait a moment. I have something for you to take back to the Ministry.”

Harry sighed deeply and went up to his room to pack everything. If Sirius and Dumbledore were both on top of it, he figured something would change. 

Something had to change. 

He couldn’t be expelled from Hogwarts. He was only 15. 

The next week passed in a blur. 

Sirius didn’t leave Harry’s side, and after several tense owl exchanges with the Ministry, Sirius and Harry actually went to the Ministry to petition to have Harry’s Trace Charm removed. 

“I don’t understand why we had to come here in person,” Sirius grumbled as they walked into the Office of Underage Magic Oversight.

The man sitting at the desk raised his head and squinted at the pair. “Hello? How can I help you?”

“How can you-- No. I’m sorry. Good morning. I’m Sirius Black and this is my god-son, Harry Potter. We’re here to talk to Miriam Cadwallader because for whatever reason I’m apparently unable to file paperwork in a normal way. We have an appointment.”

The man’s eyes had widened comically when Sirius introduced them, and by the end of his speech the man had stood and nodded several times. “Yes, of course, please hold on a minute. I’ll let Miriam know you’re here.” He disappeared into one of the doors behind his desk and came back a moment later. “Please, go on in.”

The woman sitting at the desk sighed as they came in. “Good. Finally. Sit, sit. Harry, please be a dear and close the door firmly behind you.”

Sirius sat, but then immediately leaned forward. “I don’t mean to be rude but--”

She waved her hand. “Keep your voice down, please.” She looked directly at Harry. “My nephew plays chaser for the Hufflepuff team with Cedric. He’s been upset all summer. I can only imagine how you’ve been feeling, dear. My nephew said that you and Cedric were… close?” Harry glanced at Sirius, who looked just as confused as he felt. This wasn’t what they had been expecting. He glanced back at the woman and nodded. She sighed deeply. “He also said that you wouldn’t lie about what happened… Is He Who Must Not Be Named really back?” Harry swallowed deeply and nodded again. She pursed her lips and stared at him for a moment before nodding sharply and pulling a paper out of her desk. 

She raised her voice as she spoke, “Mr. Black, I found the form that you filed last year to have the Trace Charm removed from your ward. Because you have shared custody with muggles, one of the clerks filed the paperwork wrong, which led to Harry’s Charm remaining in place. Obviously, the clerk has been reprimanded and the Charm has been removed, and all retroactive magic done in his presence has been erased from his record. Obviously this means that the pending expulsion from Hogwarts and the pending destruction of his wand will be dismissed.” She waved her wand and duplicated the form before handing the copy to Sirius. 

She lowered her voice once more. “I don’t know why the Ministry is covering this up, but I thought it was very fishy that the Prophet declared Cedric’s death a tragic mystery, when my nephew came home and stated that Dumbledore had clearly told the whole school that He Who Must Not Be Named is back. Also, I don’t know why his case was sent straight to the Improper Use of Magic office. It should have come here. Using magic in front of an underage family member is a classic case. We handle those types of cases all the time.”

Harry swallowed. “Thank you,” he whispered. 

Sirius reached out and shook her hand. “Thank you so much,” he said softly. “If there’s anything you need, or any pushback--”

She chuckled and shook her head. “There are many of us within the Ministry who are confused by the apparent obfuscation of the truth and the law. We don’t like it, but there are efforts being made to pursue truth and keep the laws upheld appropriately.”

Sirius pulled out a small black card with shimmering orange and red writing and the image of a phoenix on it and handed it across the desk. Cadwallader took it, her eyes going wide. “So it really is true?”

Sirius nodded. “It really is. Thank you for everything today, and if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.”

*

Harry went to sleep that night in his new bed in Sirius and Remus’ house with a smile on his face. He had gotten letters from everyone and Dobby had hugged him several times. They were expecting their book lists from Hogwarts any day now, and they had plans to have lunch with the Weasleys tomorrow now that Hermione had arrived. 

“If the book lists don’t come soon, we’ll barely have time to get the books,” Remus mused as he flipped pancakes the next morning. 

“One of us can always pop over to Diagon Alley for a few minutes and pick them up,” Sirius noted absently as he skimmed through the Daily Prophet. “This is all rubbish.”

“Yea, but where’s the fun in that?” Remus threw a grin over his shoulder that Harry returned. 

“Making the trip there is kind of tradition,” Harry noted. “Maybe we can go tomorrow, even if we don’t have the book list? Just for fun?”

Sirius put the newspaper down and grinned at Harry. “Yea, we can definitely do that. Maybe we’ll see if Ron and Hermione want to come with us?”

“That sounds great,” Harry said. He had seen Ron a few times over the summer, mostly at the Burrow, but he’d come over using Floo Powder a couple times. He’d been perplexed by the tv at first, but after the first full afternoon, he’d been enthralled.

Harry walked to the sink to wash the dishes after they’d all finished, but Sirius jumped up. “Hey wait. You can do magic now! Just use _scourgify!"_

Harry grinned widely as he pulled his wand out.

“Gently, though,” Remus added. “If you’re too rough, you might break the teacups.”

Harry tried the spell several times before he got it just right. “Mrs. Weasley uses a different charm though, I think. She just waved her wand and all the dishes started washing themselves, instead of cleaning each one individually.”

“Hmm,” Sirius said. “That’s probably a lot more convenient for her, with such a large family.” He glanced at Remus. “We’ve never really been in charge of more than just taking care of ourselves. Let’s ask Molly today. I’m sure she’ll be flattered and happy to teach us.”

“She does offer quite frequently to lend us some of her spell books,” Remus pointed out. 

“Hmm,” Sirius said. “I’d just be happier if they didn’t have that nitwit Lockhart’s face on them.”

Harry laughed loudly, drawing slightly surprised looks from both Sirius and Remus. As much as Harry had been smiling more lately, this was the first time he had genuinely laughed out loud in what felt like the whole summer. “Lockhart was the worst,” he said as explanation. 

*

“Wait, what do you mean Harry actually did cast the spell?” Ron asked, looking between Harry, Sirius, and his parents. 

Sirius let out a shaky sigh. “I’m a little ashamed to admit that I wasn’t able to cast it. I rushed in to help him as soon as I realized a dementor was there, but I was helpless. I thought that I would have been able to fight it… but I guess I’m more deeply traumatized by my time in Azkaban than I thought.”

Harry squeezed Sirius’ shoulder. “It’s fine. I was glad you were there anyway. I don’t know how I would have handled everything afterwards if it weren’t for you.”

“But… but… you said…” Ron spluttered and turned accusingly toward his parents. “You said there was no dementor! And that Sirius had just accidentally cast a powerful spell too close to Harry!”

“I thought that’s what we agreed the story was,” Molly said through gritted teeth, glaring at Sirius. 

He leaned forward and squinted at her. “I didn’t realize we were keeping the story going in front of our own families. Obviously Harry knows what really happened since he was there. I thought you’d tell Ron the truth, since we couldn’t do it by owl, but obviously Harry is going to talk about what really happened to his best friends.”

“I thought we were keeping the truth as an Order secret,” Molly hissed. 

All of the kids exchanged glances.

“Well, since I can’t officially join the Order yet,” Harry said angrily, “and I know about the dementors, I think this one is going to have to be at least semi-public information.”

“Of course you can’t join the Order,” Molly said. “I would never abide that. You’re too young.”

Harry threw his hands in the air and stood up. “I know! I just said that! And it’s not up to you!” He turned and stomped out of the room.

A moment later, Ron and Hermione followed him. He could still hear Molly and Sirius arguing, although they were clearly trying to keep their voices down. 

“Mom and Dad won’t even let us join,” Fred said easily from the stairs. 

“Don’t take offense,” George added. “She thinks we’re all young and helpless.”

Harry let out a slow breath and folded his arms over his chest. “I know. Sirius and Remus have told me about how much she’s been protesting telling any of us anything about the order.”

“Sirius apparently yelled at her the other day,” Ron said. “Told her to stop telling him how to parent you because it wasn’t her job.”

“She said some… rather unkind things,” George added.

“I don’t understand her though,” Harry said. “How on earth could keeping us ignorant help us at all?” He sighed. “I mean, as much as I want to actively fight Voldemort for everything he’s done… I do get Remus and Sirius’ point about us being too young. I don’t like it, but I get it. But they’ve been telling me things, you know? Like, keeping me updated on what the Order knows. Not everything, granted,” he said, holding up his hand. “They told me that there are some things that Dumbledore doesn’t want me to know about yet, which… again… I don’t like it but I get it.”

“But… you’re right,” Ron said slowly. “Lying to us about what’s going on. How could that help?”

“It won’t,” Hermione said resolutely. “Harry, Sirius said they’d take us to Diagon Alley with you? Do you think they’ll buy us some extra books? Ones that aren’t on the reading list? There are a few things I’d really like to get, but I’m not sure my parents exchanged enough money for what I have in mind.”

“Of course,” Harry said easily. “And if Sirius doesn’t want to pay for them, then I will. But I don’t think he’d protest about buying books.”

Fred leaned closer to Hermione, “Why Ms. Prefect, it almost sounds like you’re planning to do something that our mother wouldn’t approve of.”

“It’s not illegal or immoral,” Hermione said with a sniff. “But, as Harry so loudly pointed out, what books I read are really not up to your mother.”

“Right on you!” George said with a wide grin. 

“Hey, Harry, do you think you can teach me how to cast a patronus?” Fred asked. “I’ve always kind of wandered what shape mine would take.”

“Sure,” Harry said with a grin. “Let’s go outside.”

*

“Don’t worry too much, Harry,” Sirius said, that night once they got home, looping an arm over his shoulders. “Only nerds are made prefects.”

Remus scoffed behind them and Sirius looked over his shoulder, grinning widely, “Of course I mean you Mooney. You’re still a nerd.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I played fast-and-loose with some in-world rules... but I just don't care. 
> 
> As far as I can tell, the Trace Charm doesn't actually make sense, so I'm going to handle it the way I want to. 
> 
> And Sirius is involved in Harry's life in a very real and legal way now, so that's going to significantly affect everything.


	10. Part 1: Order of the Phoenix (Year 5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So OotP was turning into WAY too long of a chapter, so I had to split it in half. 
> 
> Also, part of me doesn't exactly remember the duties of prefects and also part of me just wants to say fuck it and do whatever I want with them.

“Oh, ho, look who’s in here. No, don’t worry. I’ll handle this,” Draco said loudly as he slid the train compartment door closed behind himself.

Harry looked up from the game he was playing with George and squinted at Draco. “Ugh, you’re a Prefect too?”

Draco smirked before turning to eye the Weasley twins warily. They both stared blankly at him for a minute before breaking into wide grins. “We’re good,” Fred said quietly. “Harry is our business partner, and we’re his confidantes.”

“Well, his substitute confidantes,” George amended. “Apparently he prefers to confide in you while at Hogwarts.”

“Not sure if the lack of kissing is a pro or a con on our side,” Fred noted. 

Draco’s eyes widened and he glanced at Harry. “I feel like I’m… not prepared for this conversation.”

George and Fred broke into identical wide grins again. 

“We could kiss you, if you’d like, to make things even,” George offered. 

Draco inhaled sharply before turning back to Harry with wide eyes. “Did you really cast a corporeal patronus?”

Harry nodded with a chuckle. “Guys, leave off. I did. I’ve been able to do it since Remus taught me third year.”

Draco whistled. “You have to help me out then. I’ve never been able to make a corporeal one. Mine are always just whisps.”

Harry nodded. “Sure thing.”

Draco bit his lip for a minute as he studied Harry. He was smiling and laughing, but there was an air of pensiveness about him that hadn’t been there in the spring. He continued softly. “I thought you’d be prefect this year.”

“That was the general consensus in our house too,” Fred said as he reset the game in front of him. “Ickle Ronnikens was not happy about it.”

“I can… understand why,” Draco said with a sigh. “I’ll try to leave off it, yea?”

Harry nodded. “Thanks.”

Draco was silent for another moment as he watched George and Fred begin to play. “Dobby said… there were some things that you didn’t trust to put in writing?”

Harry grinned suddenly and pulled a black card from his pocket. “This is a gift from Sirius. It’s charmed so you can write messages back and forth with him. It’s one of the ways that the Order of the Phoenix communicates.”

Draco’s eyes widened comically as he studied the card. “Truly?”

Harry held his hand out to Draco, who reached out and grasped the offered hand. “He said we can both join when we come of age. He’ll gladly have us fighting by his side if Voldemort hasn’t been taken care of before then.”

“Truly?” Draco asked again, although this time it came out as a whisper.

Harry nodded solemnly. 

“Our mother won’t let us join as long as we live with her,” George noted without looking up from the game. “But with Harry’s help, we’ve officially launched Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, and hopefully we’ll be able to get a place of our own next year and join the Order.”

Draco looked between the three of them with surprise. “I didn’t realize that you were all making such concrete plans.”

“Well, we’ve got to, don’t we?” Harry asked. “The Death Eaters aren’t waiting for us to grow up, are they?”

Draco pursed his lips and shook his head. “You’re right.”

The door slid open suddenly and Hermione sighed when she saw who was in the cabin. “Oh good, it’s you lot.” She stepped inside and closed the door firmly behind her. “Are you going to help us maintain order on this train or not?”

Draco grinned slowly. “I’ve been thinking about that.” She raised her eyebrows in expectation while waiting for a response. “I don’t think I will.”

“What?” Hermione asked, her brow furrowing.

“Well, think about it,” Draco said. “It would seem out of character for me if I suddenly started acting like, well, you.” Hermione’s mouth dropped open so Draco continued. “I’ve worked hard to keep up the veneer of Slytherin expectations so that I don’t get in trouble with my parents. I think that… honestly, I think my father would expect me to abuse my position. You know. Like. Bully first years and pick on Harry, and things like that. But obviously I’m not going to do that. So… the best compromise I can think of is to be ambivalently ineffective as a prefect.”

“Protesting expectations by doing nothing,” Fred noted with approval. “I like it.”

“So… you’re just going to sit here… doing nothing?” Hermione asked, dropping onto the bench next to Draco.

“Not exactly,” Draco said. “See, I’m getting to know some of my cousins.” He gestured with his chin at the twins. “Their blood is about as pure as mine is, by the way, and I think your mom’s like, second-cousins with my mother, or something.” His voice dropped so it was hard to hear him, even though he wasn’t more than a few feet away. “That’s officially what my parents want me to do, by the way. See if any blood traitors, like the Weasleys, can be swayed toward my parents’ side.” The twins both paused their game to stare at Draco, who continued with a smirk. “I fear that I will be woefully bad at the task of swaying people to the dark side, but they can’t accuse me of shirking my responsibilities.”

As Draco finished speaking, Fred leaned back and pointed at Draco. “I like him,” he said to both Harry and Hermione. 

Hermione blushed and looked down at her hands for a moment before looking sharply back up at Draco. “Wait. If your parents want you to try to recruit at Hogwarts…”

Draco, who had been watching her and waiting for her to put the pieces together, nodded. “I’m preparing to stay here for the holidays, claiming that I’ll have extra duties as a prefect. I’m… I’m not sure what I’ll do over the summer, but I’m afraid I won't be safe to go back home next year.”

“Oh, Draco,” she said softly, placing one hand over his where it rested on his thigh. He shifted his hand slightly so he could grip her fingers back. 

*

Harry and Draco stared at each other with wide eyes. They had snuck into an empty classroom after hours so that Draco could work on his patronus, but the sound of footsteps in the hallway made them both freeze. 

Harry lunged for the invisibility cloak as the doorknob started turning and threw it over himself and Draco as the door swung open. 

Hermione stepped through the door and squinted as she quietly closed the door behind her. “Harry? Draco?”

Draco laughed and stepped out from under the cloak. “How did you know we were here?”

“Well, you mean, besides the fact that I could hear you both practically shouting _expecto patronum_ from down the hall?” She asked archly, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Draco approached her, still grinning, and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Well, then, aren’t we lucky you’re the prefect on duty tonight?”

“I’m not on duty alone,” she said, lifting her chin and still not quite meeting Draco’s eyes. 

He laughed and pulled her closer until he could wrap his arms around her shoulders. She stood stiffly for only a moment before melting into his embrace and wrapping her arms around his back. “How much longer do you want to practice? 

Draco rested his cheek on Hermione’s hair as he turned to look at Harry, who had pulled out the Marauder’s Map and was studying it while perched on the teacher’s desk. Harry glanced up and realized Hermione and Draco were both looking at him. “Sorry, what?”

“How much longer do you want to practice?” Hermione repeated. “You’re the expert here.”

“Were we really shouting?” Harry asked, tapping the map and folding it back up.

“You were quite loud,” she answered with a rueful smile. “Does the spell work with a whisper?”

Harry waved his wand from his sitting position and whispered, _“Expecto Patronum_.” Harry’s normal stag jumped out of his wand and pranced around Hermione and Draco for a moment before vanishing into smoke.

“Show-off,” Draco muttered before stepping away from Hermione. _“Expecto Patronum_ ,” he whispered and a silvery shadow appeared, danced in a few circles, and disappeared. He threw his hands up and turned to Harry. 

“We’ll keep working on it,” Harry said. “It’s definitely more solid than it was the first time you tried. And we’ve only practiced a few times.”

 _“Expecto patronum_ ,” Hermione whispered, and a silvery otter jumped out of her wand and then almost instantly vanished. “Oh!” She covered her mouth and looked first at Draco and then Harry with wide eyes. “I did it!”

“On your first try, really Granger?” Draco drawled before wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close again. “Honestly, I’m blinded by my jealousy right now.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. 

She laughed and squeezed his waist. “Harry, can you believe that?”

He leaned back with a wide grin. “Of course I can. You’re good at everything.”

“Not everything,” Hermione said, tucking her hair behind her ear with her free hand. “Plus, I really do think that we should go back soon.”

Harry nodded and stood up, tucking the map in his pocket. “Come on, Draco,” he said, clapping Draco on the back before swirling the invisibility cloak around himself. “Maybe you’ll get it next week.”

Harry trailed behind Hermione and Draco as they finished their rounds of monitoring the hallways before they split apart in the Great Hall. When he and Hermione were almost back at the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry softly spoke. “We have to find a way to do this that doesn’t involve me constantly being the third wheel, by the way.”

He watched as Hermione bit her lip to try to hide a smile. “It’s not like that, you know.”

“I know,” Harry acknowledged softly with a bittersweet smile. “But it’s also painfully obvious that you both want it to be.”

*

“So I asked Dobby if there’s a super secure room inside Hogwarts that we can use to train in,” Ron said one afternoon while they studied together in the library. 

“What?” Harry asked after he, Hermione, and Draco stared at Ron silently for a moment. 

“I asked Dobby--”

“No, we heard the words you said,” Draco interrupted. “What do you mean? What kind of room?”

“Well, he said there’s a magical room on the third floor that only appears under specific conditions,” Ron explained smugly. “And apparently once you’re inside it, no one can break in unless they know exactly what they’re looking for.”

“You mean… it’s like the Fidelius Charm?” Hermione asked, leaning toward Ron. 

He shrugged. “It kind of sounds like that… except Dobby was pretty insistent that the room would be whatever you needed it to be, so… that’s… different.”

“How do you get in?” Draco asked. “And are you sure it works?”

Ron grinned. “I tried it earlier and I’m pretty positive it worked. All you have to do is walk past the room three times and think about what you want, and then it’s just… there.”

“That’s it?” Harry asked. “And it’s on the third floor?”

Draco closed his book. “Let’s go check it out.”

The four of them gathered their things and began to walk out of the library, when Blaise fell in step next to Harry, “So what kind of training?” 

Harry flailed and bumped into Draco, who righted him with a hand on his arm. “Shhh, keep walking,” Draco said softly, craning his neck around Harry to watch Blaise as he walked next to them with a small grin on his face. “How long were you listening?”

“Long enough to figure out that you probably plan on practicing some defensive spells in secret, since Umbridge has proven herself to be impressively unhelpful in that field,” Blaise responded under his breath. “I’d like to join, since this doesn’t seem to be an exclusively Gryffindor study group.”

Harry eyed Draco, who shrugged. He turned back to Blaise, “Sure… I guess we could train together.”

The group walked to the third floor quietly, and when they got to the corner, Ron turned, “Why don’t Harry and I open it, and you guys just… hang here?”

“Sure thing,” Blaise agreed easily, leaning against the wall. 

Hermione turned to study Blaise. “So, do you often eavesdrop on other people’s conversations?”

Draco laughed as Blaise smiled down at her. “I’m always listening to people. Most people aren’t worth listening to, but I’ve learned that you lot are usually pretty useful or interesting.”

Draco reached out for Hermione’s shoulder and she stepped into him instantly, wrapping her arm around his waist. “That’s… very…”

“It’s very Slytherin of me, I know.” Blaise grinned before nodding toward the hall. “Ron’s waving at us.”

*

“So, who all is going to be there?” Harry asked as they walked down the road in Hogsmeade. 

“A few people from each house, I think,” Hermione answered. “Although I’m pretty sure Draco and Blaise are the only Slytherins.”

“Alright, that shouldn’t be too bad. I just don’t want it to be a crowd or anything,” Harry said as Ron stepped forward and opened the door to the shady looking pub they had chosen to meet in. Harry froze as he looked at the group that was milling inside. “Guys?” Harry whispered. 

Ron grabbed his arm and pulled him in. “Go sit with Fred and George, I’ll get us drinks.” 

Draco peeled off and followed Ron to the counter. “I’m paying,” he said softly, glancing over to see Harry sit down slowly next to Fred. “There are too many people here, and that barkeep looks too suspicious.”

“Thanks,” Ron breathed out. “I wasn’t actually sure what my plan was.”

Draco chuckled and pulled out several galleons and placed them on the counter. The barkeep’s eyes lit up and he started pulling butterbeers out from under the counter. 

As Draco was handing out the last of the butterbeers, the barkeep caught his eye. “You a prefect?”

Draco moved his scarf that was half-covering his prefect’s badge so the barkeep could see it more clearly. 

“Professor Umbridge came in here yesterday,” the man said casually as he wiped the counter with a dirty rag. “Warned me that there might be troublemakers about today, in a place where they think she can’t see them.” Draco’s eyes widened as he listened and he nodded slowly. “But if you’re a prefect, and I saw that girl’s prefect badge too, then I know you lot can’t be the troublemakers that Umbridge woman was talking about. I know you’re on the up and up.” The man winked as he put his rag away. “Just… if you happen to bump into those troublemakers, let them know that woman is trying to have eyes everywhere.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll pass along that message… if I see them,” Draco said softly. 

*

“I can’t believe so many people came,” Harry mused as they were walking back toward the castle. Their normal group had swelled slightly. The four of them had been joined by Blaise, Luna, Ginny, and the twins. 

“Well, most of the folks were the ones who were part of the study groups during the Triwizard Tournament, so they’re used to working together,” Fred said, slinging an arm over Harry’s shoulder. 

“And they’re all for the most part used to the idea of rallying behind you and Cedric,” Blaise said. “And since Cedric is gone, you’re what they’ve got left.”

Harry’s head jerked at the mention of Cedric and he turned to scowl over his shoulder at Blaise, who didn’t notice because he had turned to look at something Luna was pointing at. 

Fred shook Harry gently to distract him from Blaise. “Hey come on,” he said softly. “Everyone is excited and it’ll be good to have something productive to do together. Plus, Hermione came up with some fantastic ideas with those coins and charming the sign-up sheet.”

Harry nodded and inhaled deeply before glancing up at Fred and smiling slightly. “Thanks, Fred,” he said softly as he wrapped an arm around Fred’s back while they continued walking. 

Draco raised his eyebrows at Hermione as they walked and she tried to hide a smile as she stepped closer and slipped her arm around his back in a pose that mirrored Fred and Harry’s. He pulled her close and whispered into her hair, “You are magnificent, by the way. Those galleons? Just inspired.”

She tucked a curl behind her ear. “Thanks.”

*

Harry brought the two-way mirror with him when they snuck out to meet in the Room of Requirement. Draco had wanted to make sure that they could get into it reliably before telling the whole club to show up. 

“We’d look like fools if we told them all to come to the third floor corridor and then the room just decided not to open,” he had said. 

Ron had laughed, but in the end they’d all agreed to meet. They were also glad to have a place that was safe from Umbridge or any other prying eyes. 

“You’re going to share Sirius with me?” Draco asked, eyes widening as Harry pulled the mirror out. 

“Yea,” Harry said with a small smile, “I figured you’d want to be here when we told him that we’re officially starting it up. I wasn’t honestly sure anyone would come, so I don’t think I sounded very optimistic when I was talking about it last night with him.”

Draco settled down next to Harry and was glad when Hermione leaned in on his other side. 

Sirius listened with rapt attention as Harry explained everything, although by the end of it, Remus and Sirius exchanged glances. “Look, I’m aware of how hypocritical I would be if I told you not to do it,” he said softly through the two-way mirror. “But please be careful. I didn’t care about consequences when I was your age… but…” he laughed. “I really am getting old.”

“Sirius, we’ll be careful, I promise,” Harry said confidently. “Between your map and my dad’s cloak, and the fact that we’ve got over half the prefects in the school in the DA, we’ll be fine.”

*

“Hey Draco, you’re up,” Harry said, turning to find Draco. He looked up from where he and Hermione had been talking softly together just in time to see Harry roll his eyes at them. “Are you going to join us, or are you too busy over there?”

Draco squeezed Hermione’s hand briefly and rose smoothly and pulled his wand out. “You think you’re ready for me?”

Harry laughed and pointed at the designated spot across from him. 

Draco walked across the room, aware of the fact that the whole room was watching them. Draco spoke softly as he raised his wand in front of his face. “I wasn’t actually listening before. Are we doing anything specific or just dueling?”

“Just dueling,” Harry replied softly with a grin, raising his wand as well. 

“Ready?” 

George stepped forward, “Alright boys, on the count of three.”

Fred stepped forward and tugged on George’s arm, “Three.

“Two,” George grinned as he stepped behind Ron.

“One!” Fred called out. 

“E _xpelliarmus!”_

_“Protego! Stupefy!”_

Harry grinned as Draco blocked his first spell and then lept out of the way of Draco’s spell. _“Impedimenta!”_

“ _Protego!”_ Draco blocked Harry’s spell again and returned Harry’s grin as he shifted his feet. He squinted slightly as Harry began to walk slowly to his left. Draco moved slowly to his right so that Harry would stay in front of him the whole time. _“Incarcerous!”_

Thick ropes shot out of the air and wrapped toward Harry, who said, _“Diffindo_ ,” quickly as he made a slashing movement with his wand. Pieces of rope fell around him as he laughed. _“Stupefy!”_

“ _Expelliarmus!”_

Their spells met in midair and fizzled like fireworks for a moment. 

_“Langlock!”_

_“Immobulus!”_

This time the spells flew past each other and both boys dove to the side to avoid getting hit. They righted themselves and started laughing. 

_“Silencio!”_

_“Rictusempra!”_

Draco dodged out of the way of Harry’s spell and gaped across the room. “Did you just try to use the bloody tickling hex on me?”

Harry laughed. “I did!”

“Well, boys, I think you can call it for now,” Hermione said from the sidelines. “I think it’s clear you two are pretty evenly matched.”

“I don’t even know half those spells,” Neville noted from where he was standing next to Blaise.

“And I never would have thought to use _diffindo_ like that,” Fred said as he walked over to Harry and picked up the ropes still on the ground. “Mom always uses it for like, mending clothes or something like that. I wouldn’t have thought about dueling with it.”

Harry shrugged at Fred. “It worked.

Fred grinned down at Harry. “Yes it did.”

Harry looked around, “Alright, everyone, are you ready to practice?”

“What do we do?” Neville asked. “Because I definitely don’t think I can duel like that yet.”

“No, don’t worry about that,” Harry said. “Pair up for now, and I want you all to take turns practicing _expelliarmus_ and _protego_.”

“But isn’t that so… basic?” Michael Corner asked with a scowl.

 _“Expelliarmus_ ,” Draco drawled, pointing at Michael. He held his hand up to catch the boy’s wand as it flew through the air toward him. 

Michael’s mouth fell open as he glared at Draco. “I wasn’t ready!” 

“Hmm,” Draco murmured before spinning and pointing at Ginny, _“Expelliarmus_!”

 _“Protego!”_ Ginny shouted. Her spell shield appeared the instant before Draco’s spell hit her and she gasped in relief. 

Draco turned and offered Michael’s wand back to him. “Ready to practice?”

“I told you that _expelliarmus_ was the spell I used against Voldemort,” Harry reminded the group. “If it works, you’ve won the duel. If it doesn’t work, it may still block whatever spell is thrown at you. And _protego_ is just as important. Eventually, you’ll be able to pair it with attack spells, like Draco did, but for now just focus on going back and forth with the two until they’re reflexive.”

“You willing to pair up with me?” Hermione asked behind Draco. 

He turned and grinned, “Always, yes.”

*

A few weeks later, the DA was cleaning up and leaving after practicing, and Harry just stared out a window while he waited for everyone to leave - a window he was pretty sure wasn’t real, but it helped, somehow, to watch the snow fall, whether or not was real. A few of the members had been musing about whether or not this practice would help them if they actually came face to face with a Death Eater, and one of the Hufflepuff girls had mentioned Cedric and gotten a little teary.

“So, do you want to talk,” Fred’s voice came from directly behind Harry, “or do you want a distraction?”

Harry sighed and turned to look up at Fred, who was standing just a pace away from Harry. Behind him, George, Ron, Draco, and Hermione were the only DA members left. 

“I… I feel like all I do is distract myself,” Harry admitted softly, not sure if the rest of the group could hear him, but also not really caring. “But at the same time, I don’t want to talk about him. I feel like… I don’t have any right to feel as upset as I do.”

“Oh, Harry,” Fred said, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around him. Harry immediately wrapped his arms around Fred’s back and pressed his nose into his sweater. “You are completely allowed to feel upset after what happened. We need tea,” he announced, and then laughed happily when he looked down and saw a table with a full tea serving on it. 

“Harry, I think I’ve learned more in these last few DA sessions than I have in any DADA class,” George said with a grin as he sat down at the table. 

“Well, Lupin was a good teacher,” Fred countered. “I’m sure living with him part-time helps,” he said, looking to Harry as he sat slowly next to him. 

Harry nodded. “Remus did send me some notes. Plus, I think those books that Hermione got at the beginning of the year are going to be super helpful.”

“Hmmm,” Hermione said as she poured tea for everyone. “All thanks to the Black Family.”

*

Draco and Hermione linked their fingers together as they walked back from Hagrid’s hut. Draco still felt unsure about visiting the man, but Hermione had insisted, and Draco had to admit that visiting Hagrid was always interesting, if not pleasant. 

“Do you think Harry and them are done with their quidditch practice?” Hermione mused as they neared the stands. 

“It sounds like it,” Draco pointed out. “Unless they’re practicing some new silent technique.”

Hermione giggled and then waved as she saw a few of the Gryffindor players emerge from their locker room. They waved back but continued moving toward the building.

A moment later, George stepped out and called out, “Hey Angelina, wait up!”

Draco and Hermione exchanged glances. Seeing George without Fred at his side seemed odd. Draco shrugged as they continued walking. 

As they finally drew near the locker room door, they heard Fred shout, “Found it!”

Harry’s laughter floated through the door. “I still don’t understand how you lost it in the first place.” 

Hermione tugged slightly on Draco’s hand and began moving toward the door so they could meet up with Harry. 

“Fred?” Harry asked softly with a surprised chuckle. They could see his shadow from where he was standing just within the doorway.

“Harry, you can tell me to sod off at any point, but, I just…” Draco and Hermione both froze on the spot as they saw Fred step forward and gently kiss Harry. Draco tugged on Hermione’s hand and they both darted away from the door. A moment later they ducked behind one of the stadium stands and grinned widely at each other. 

“Merlin, did we really just almost interrupt that?” Draco whispered.

“Ginny is going to be so upset,” Hermione mused, her expression caught somewhere between surprised, sad, and happy. At Draco’s raised eyebrow, “She’s had a crush on Harry forever.”

“But… but she’s dated like, three different guys this year,” he protested. “Isn’t she dating that Macmillon bloke right now?”

Hermione shrugged. “I didn’t say it was logical. She was just… Harry never seemed to notice her, so she decided to live her life instead of waiting on him.”

“Why didn’t she… ask him out or something?”

Hermione raised one eyebrow at him and he laughed. “Yea, alright, I guess him being the big, famous Harry Potter, and her being the younger sister of his best friend would make it a bit intimidating.”

*

“Are you really sure you’ll be alright staying here over the holiday break?” Hermione asked for what seemed like the tenth time. 

“Yes,” Draco responded with a tired grin. “I have a stack of new books that Dobby brought me from Remus, and Harry’s staying too, remember? We’ll be able to practice together every day. It’ll be relaxing.”

“I think we patrolled this hallway already,” Hermione noted softly.

Draco shrugged and then slipped his hand into hers. She squeezed his fingers, before tugging on them to stop him. 

He lifted an eyebrow as he looked down at her, but she just smiled. He lifted a hand to cup the side of her face as he leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers. She smiled against his lips and wound her free fingers through his robe, pulling him closer. 

“I think I could do that all night,” Draco whispered against her lips a few moments later.

She slipped her arms around his waist, “Me too.”

“Yea?” He asked, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“Don’t look so surprised,” Hermione said with a small laugh. 

Draco traced a thumb along Hermione’s lower lip, marveling that he could touch her like he’d wanted to for so long. “Not surprised so much… just… awed.”

*

Harry woke with a start and rolled immediately off his bed, shouting slightly as he hit the floor. 

“Whasssssup?” Ron muttered as he sat up. 

“The mirror, the mirror, the mirror,” Harry repeated as he fumbled through his chest at the foot of his bed. 

Ron dropped down next to him seconds later and handed him his glasses. As Harry shoved them on his face, Ron pulled Sirius’ two-way mirror out of the chest and offered it to Harry. 

He tapped it with his wand, like he did almost every night since Sirius had given it to him, except this time, instead of waiting for Sirius to hear the chiming sound coming out of it, Harry immediately started shouting. “Sirius! Sirius, wake up!”

A moment later, Sirius’ face came into view. A light came on a second later, and Harry and Ron could see Remus moving around behind him. “Harry?” Sirius asked. Remus pulled a shirt on in the background and came up to Sirius, offering him one as well. “What’s wrong?”

“Was Mr. Weasley on guard duty tonight guarding that thing you won’t tell me about?”

“What?” Remus asked. “Harry you know we can’t--”

“No I know you can’t tell me about it,” Harry interrupted quickly. “But was he? I just had a vision he was attacked.” Ron gaped at Harry as he spoke but didn’t say anything.

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances quickly and Remus rose immediately and left the room. “Harry, tell me everything,” Sirius said, “and where are you? Is it safe to talk?”

“We’ll go to the common room,” Harry said quickly, reaching out to grab his robe as he turned. “C’mon, Ron.”

Harry quickly reviewed the vision he’d had in his sleep while he ran down the stairs. While he was talking, Remus came into the room and pressed a kiss to Sirius’ head. “I’m going,” he said softly. 

Sirius reached up and grabbed the back of his neck to pull him in for a full kiss before nodding. “Be careful.”

“Always, Padfoot,” Remus grinned before leaving the room again. 

“But, Harry, how do you know it was real this time?” Ron asked for the third time. “You’ve had other visions or dreams that weren’t real.”

“Well, we don’t know that they weren’t real, in the past,” Sirius pointed out. “We just never had any way to confirm it.”

“And it felt more real this time,” Harry explained. “The other times I felt like… I was just watching it… this time… I felt like I was really there.”

“Shit,” Ron said. “I’m going to go get the twins and Ginny.”

“You can’t get Ginny,” Harry pointed out. “I’ll send my patronus. Go get the twins.”

While Harry cast his stag patronus and sent it up the stairs to get Ginny and Hermione, Sirius hopped into a pair of pants. “Harry, is Arthur alright?” He asked softly. “I didn’t want to ask in front of Ron.

Harry nodded and bit his lip briefly. “There was a lot of blood,” he said softly. “And Sirius… when I said I felt like I was really there… I was the snake.”

Sirius nodded as he pulled the mirror close again. “I thought that might have been what you meant. Don’t tell anyone else for now, except for Albus, of course. Thank you for telling us, Harry. If it really just happened, Remus will be able to get there before anyone else finds him. It’ll be important for someone from the Order to find him and not someone else.”

“You’re going to tell me though, eventually, right? What you all are guarding?”

Sirius smiled a crooked grin. “Harry, I’m going to tell you the minute you turn 17, unless Albus agrees to let me tell you sooner.”

Hermione and Ginny came down the stairs a moment later, followed almost immediately by the twins. They all came straight over to Harry, and he reached out to lace his fingers through Fred's.

“I’m going to go write some letters,” Sirius said. “Harry I’ll take the mirror with me, but I’m going to focus on a few other things, so if you need me just shout.”

“Alright, thanks,” Harry said as he turned to explain things to the Weasleys and Hermione.

When Harry was almost done with the story, Professor McGonnagal swept in through the portrait hole. “Oh,” she said in surprise when she saw them all gathered there. “Harry, you told them?” He nodded and she clapped her hands softly. “Alright then. You all need to change so you can leave immediately. Professor Dumbledore is arranging a portkey for you.”

“But… I'm going to stay here for the holiday,” Harry said. 

“Then Professor Dumbledore will bring you back after we’ve ensured everyone’s safety. He said he wanted you,” she said, looking pointedly at Harry. “And since he’s going to St. Mungo’s right now, that’s where you’re going too.”

“Uh… alright.” 

“Hurry, get dressed,” she said, flapping her hands at them all. “Your portkey is leaving in fourteen minutes from the Great Hall.”

They all turned and ran. While Harry was dressing, he summoned another patronus and sent it to find Draco. By the time they all gathered in the Great Hall, the mop that Dumbledore was holding was starting to glow ever so slightly, indicating that it was their portkey.

Dumbledore turned to see them hurrying, “Oh perfect. You all have just under a minute.” They all rushed to grasp onto the mop. 

Draco suddenly appeared from the other end of the Hall, breathing heavily. 

Dumbledore chuckled and held his hand out. “Hurry up, Mr. Malfoy. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“But… where are we going?” Draco gasped out as he hurriedly placed his hand so it slightly overlapped Hermione’s on the mop. “What’s going on? Harry’s stag just--”

Draco’s question was cut off as they were all suddenly pulled into nothingness and then suddenly reappeared in a sterile-looking white empty room. 

“Alright, everyone, out into the hall. And please do it quietly. Remus should be in the hall to help you all find a place to wait,” Dumbledore said pleasantly. 

Draco’s eyes were staring wildly around him. Hermione stepped forward and pulled a knit hat low over his ears and wrapped a red scarf around his neck. “Come on,” she said. “Stay close to the twins. You can blend in with their height.”

George glanced over and winked at Draco, even though his expression was tight with worry.

Hours later, Sirius stopped to stare at the group of teenagers huddled together on chairs. Hermione had her head resting on Draco’s shoulder while his arm held her close. Fred and Harry were in a similar position across from them, and Ginny and Ron had both fallen asleep on George’s shoulders. “Have you been here since this morning?” They all nodded up at him. “Well, this is no good. Come on, I’m taking you all home. Let me just go tell the rest.” He stepped inside the room and came back a moment later. “We’re going to the Burrow,” he announced. “We’ll floo there.”

“But…” Draco protested softly. 

“Do you want to go back to Hogwarts instead?” Sirius asked softly. “I can arrange that with Dumbledore.”

Draco looked around. “No, but…”

“Come on,” Sirius said tiredly. “You can stay with us for the holiday, alright? Your parents can think you’re still at Hogwarts.”

Draco’s eyes widened and he nodded mutely. They trailed behind Sirius to the wide corridor of fireplaces, where Sirius handed a small portion of floo powder to each person. “Listen,” he said, eyeing Harry closely. “You have to say ‘The Burrow’ clearly, otherwise you’ll get lost and both Molly and Albus will have my head.”

The Weasley kids all grinned tiredly but said it clearly as they disappeared into the green flames. When it was just Harry, Hermione, and Draco left, Sirius squinted. “Draco, you’ve got this, yes?” Draco grinned and nodded before stepping into the green flames. “Harry? Hermione?”

Hermione swallowed and held her chin up high. “I’ll be fine.” She, too, disappeared into green flames after declaring “The Burrow!”

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. “I can say ‘The Burrow’ by the way. I’m not going to mess it up this time.”

Sirius pulled Harry in for a tight hug. “You’d better not. I want to have Christmas morning together. Remus learned how to bake treacle tart. We can’t do that if you’ve jumped out of a fireplace someplace in Wales.”

Harry’s eyes lit up. “Treacle Tart?”

“Go!” Sirius laughed giving him a gentle push.

“The Burrow!” Harry said, the grin still on his face. He whirled dizzily for what felt like long minutes before stumbling out of the fireplace in Ron’s kitchen. “I really hate that,” he said after coughing. 

“Well, at least you came out of the right fireplace this time,” George said with a tired grin. 

“I’m making tea,” Fred said, throwing a glance over his shoulder.

Sirius stepped out of the fireplace and brushed some ash off his jacket before pulling Harry in for another hug. 

“Alright, who’s hungry?” He asked. 

Everyone sort of shrugged, but they all sat down at the table while Sirius moved about the kitchen. After a few minutes, he put a large plate of buttered toast, scrambled eggs, and ham on the table. 

“Isn’t it… four in the afternoon?” Ginny asked curiously. 

“Do you want buttered toast and eggs or not?” Sirius asked archly as Ginny picked up a piece of toast and bit into it. 

She shrugged. “We’ve never had scrambled eggs in the afternoon before.”

“Well, it was the most efficient meal that I could think to make for eight people,” Sirius admitted. “I’m not really accustomed to cooking for small armies.”

An hour or so later, Molly apparated into the garden and bustled into the kitchen. “Oh Sirius, thank you!” She gave everyone kisses and hugs, including Draco, although they both froze and blinked in confusion for a moment before she continued on to Harry. “Harry, thank you so much. The healers said that… it could have been a lot worse if you didn’t let the Order know. Thank you.”

“Is he alright, Mom?” Ron asked, tugging at her sleeve.

“Yes, my darlings. He woke up not long after you all left, but he’s just so tired. He was only awake for a few minutes, and then the Head Healer gave him another potion to help him sleep. They said that’s one of the best things for him now.”

“Don’t you want to stay with him?” Sirius asked softly. “I can stay with the kids. I don’t mind.”

She waved gently. “I know how much you’ve done today too, Sirius. Take Harry and… Draco… home with you. Get a good night’s sleep. The Healer said that Arthur should be awake more tomorrow, so you can come back and visit tomorrow, if you’d like.”

“Of course we’ll be there,” Sirius said, pressing a kiss into Molly’s hair. He turned to Harry and Draco, “Ready?”

“Do we have to use the floo network again?” Harry asked, wrinkling his nose.

Sirius chuckled, “You can both side-along apparate with me, how does that sound?”

“Much better,” Harry grinned, looking to Draco, who shrugged and nodded. 

Harry and Draco hugged Ron and Hermione before following Sirius into the garden. He looped his arms over both their shoulders and grinned for a moment. “You know, if you had ever asked me how my life would turn out, this is not anything I would have ever predicted, even in my wildest imaginations.”

Harry grinned and held his hand out to Draco. He placed his hand in Harry’s and then Sirius spun with them to disapparate. 

When they stepped into the house, Sirius raised his voice, “Mooney, you home?”

“In Harry’s room,” Remus’ voice called. The three of them walked through the kitchen to Harry’s room. “I added another bed, but apparently I don’t remember how to work the spell to make a space bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. I know it’s in a book here somewhere.”

“Remus, this is perfect,” Draco said. “As long as Harry doesn’t mind sharing.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Remus asked. “We could enlarge the space, or even add a second bedroom. I just have to look up the specific charms…”

“It’s fine,” Draco assured him. “I promise. I’m used to bunking with other blokes at Hogwarts. Plus, I actually like Harry, so it’ll be even better.”

“Same,” Harry said. “Although I do like most of the guys in my room, it'll still be nice to have just one person snoring, not five.”

“I do not snore!” Draco said with a slight scowl. 

“Hey, Draco, have you ever watched TV before?” Harry asked, a wide grin forming on his face.

“What?” Draco asked with a squint. 

Harry grabbed his arm and pushed him toward the living room. “This is going to be great,” he announced to Sirius and Remus. 

The four of them spent most of the next few hours in front of the TV. Sirius ordered muggle take-out and Draco enjoyed tasting all of the different dishes he’d ordered. It was still early when they all started yawning, and Sirius looked at the clock. “We’ve all been up since well before dawn. I don’t know about you boys, but I’m ready to sleep.”

Harry and Draco exchanged glances. “I’m tired,” Harry offered eventually.

“Alright,” Draco said, standing. 

After some slight shuffling where Remus duplicated a new toothbrush for Draco and Harry lent him a pair of pajama pants, the two of them finally climbed into their beds, facing each other across the empty space.

“I kissed Hermione last night,” Draco whispered after a few moments of quiet. 

Harry shifted to look at Draco, even though he didn’t have glasses on and probably couldn’t see anything other than the pale of his hair. “Yea?” 

Draco could see Harry’s soft smile as the light from outside reflected off his teeth. “Yea,” he said, returning the grin. “She’s amazing, you know?”

*

The next morning Harry woke to the smell of pancakes. “Come on,” he moaned, rubbing at his eyes. “Remus makes fantastic pancakes.”

Draco groaned and stretched. “Alright.”

“Morning, boys.” Remus said when they came into the kitchen. “Molly and the kids are at St. Mungo’s now,” Remus put a large plate of pancakes in front of Draco and Harry. “Apparently Arthur is asking for you, Harry.” He and Sirius exchanged significant looks. “So I’ll take you there in a bit, while Sirius and Draco get a Christmas tree and start putting up some decorations, alright?”

Draco winced. “I’m sorry I’m messing--”

Sirius whirled and pointed at him. “Don’t you apologize for anything. Arthur doesn’t need so many people crowding into his room right now. I can go visit him later, when there are fewer people anyway.” His voice softened. “Draco, we’re glad that you’re here. Now, tell me about your quidditch game against Ravenclaw. Harry told me that the other seeker almost got the snitch before you?”

Draco fake gasped at Harry. “I can’t believe you!” But he laughed as they all began to eat their pancakes.


	11. Part 2: Order of the Phoenix (Year 5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is LONG omg

“Harry?” 

“Draco?” 

“What are you doing here? You know this is Snape’s office, right?” 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Of course I know that. Snape sent me a note summoning me. And on the first night back and everything!”

Draco held out a note, “Like this one?”

“Huh,” Harry said. “What do you think he wants?”

The door swung open. “Well, I definitely want you both to be on time,” Snape snapped. “You don’t need to stand in the hallway chatting.” Snape spun and stalked away from them, leaving the door open behind him.

Draco and Harry exchanged glances and tried not to smile as they followed Snape into the room. 

“Now that we’ve started the new term, I’m going to teach both of you occlumency. Secretly.”

“But,” Harry spluttered, looking at Draco. “Why?”

Snape turned around slowly and faced them both. “Because Professor Dumbledore knows far more about what goes on in this school than most students give him credit for. He has decided that you both need to know occlumency.”

“But… what is occlumency?” Harry asked.

“It’s the countercharm for legilimency,” Draco answered. “It prevents someone from reading your mind.”

“What?” Harry asked loudly. “That’s… a thing people can do? For real?”

“Sir?” Draco asked, ignoring Harry’s questions. “If you’re going to secretly teach us, what will be the excuse for us both coming to you?”

“That’s a good question, Draco,” Snape answered, turning to look out the dark window. “If it were just Potter, I could have said I was giving him remedial lessons. He’s so bad at brewing potions that it would be believable.” Draco winced at Harry, who scowled. “But Draco, you are far too gifted for that excuse to be believable.”

Silence reigned in the room for a moment before Harry said, “So tutor him in more advanced potions.” Snape and Draco both turned to look at him. “I’m sure that I’m so dull at potions that you’ll have me cutting and crushing and preparing ingredients, right? I’d barely take any of your attention. You could devote your time and energy to teaching Draco more advanced potions. Ones that take real skill. Like… polyjuice or something.”

“Hmmm,” Snape said, squinting at Harry. 

A wide grin started to spread across Draco’s face. “Sir, we are doing career counseling, aren’t we? If I wanted to perhaps go into Research and Development for St. Mungo’s, for example, I would definitely need to be much more versed in potions, particularly ones that have healing and restorative specialities.”

Snape inhaled and exhaled deeply before nodding once. “It’s settled then.”

“But… I still don’t understand why we need to learn occlumency,” Harry said. “Besides the fact that Dumbledore wants us to learn it, that is.”

“Well, to protect our secrets,” Draco said quickly, before Snape could answer. “He’s trying to protect us, right sir? He must know what a tough position we’re both in.”

“Also, the Dark Lord is a particularly skilled Legilimens. Potter, before you even ask, legilimency is the act of intruding on one’s mind. A Legilimens can read your mind, and not just read, but invade and experience everything, including thoughts, emotions, and feelings. However, another thing a Legilimens can do, and this can be almost equally dangerous, is insert memories or experiences into your mind.”

“Damn,” Harry breathed out.

“Language,” Snape snapped, but he didn’t seem quite as angry at Harry as he usually did. 

“Sorry… but… why you?” Harry asked, seemingly determined to get all of his questions out before they could accomplish anything. “It’s… it’s not a secret that we don’t like each other.”

Snape snorted. “It’s because I’m the only one who who has ever withstood The Dark Lord’s legilimency.”

“Shit,” Harry breathed out.

Snape just glared at Harry.

“That’s how you’ve played both sides,” Draco said softly. “My parents are convinced that you’re on their side.”

Snape nodded slightly. “Having legilimency performed on you is not pleasant. I will not go gently on you, because the Dark Lord would not go gently on you. But I can promise that your secrets are safe with me, because whatever your secrets may be, mine are worse.”

*

The second night back in the castle, Hermione and Draco met up for their scheduled rounds in the Great Hall. He reached for her hand as soon as they were close enough, and she smiled and turned to go, pulling softly on his arm so he would follow. 

“So I know we didn’t get to talk much on the train,” she said softly. “How was the rest of the break with Harry?”

Draco smiled ruefully as he trailed behind Hermione. He had wanted to lean in for a kiss the second he was close enough to Hermione, but she clearly wanted to do at least some of their rounds first. “It was honestly the most relaxing and pleasant holiday I’ve ever had,” Draco admitted. 

Hermione beamed. “Oh Draco, that’s wonderful.”

“How was your holiday?”

Hermione smiled. “It was really nice. My parents came down to pick me up the next day, and they stayed for lunch, since Mr. Weasley was home by that point. He was still all bandaged, and my parents were a little worried seeing him like that, but Mrs. Weasley was in such good spirits that it was all alright.”

Draco nodded, smiling faintly. “Did you see her face when she kissed me that afternoon?”

Hermione laughed. “She was so surprised! I think she was just so caught up in greeting everyone that she didn’t actually look at who you were.”

“I didn’t mind,” Draco noted. “I mean, Mrs. Weasley isn’t the person that I wanted to kiss the most…” Hermione laughed in surprise. “But she’s got a nice maternal vibe. Did she ever question why I was there, by the way?”

“Not really,” Hermione said with a shrug as she steered Draco to turn down a corridor. “I mean, Ron and I have been talking about you for years, so it’s not like a surprise that we’re close.” 

“Ron… talks about me… like… as a friend?”

“Of course he does,” Hermione said with a sigh. “I know he was… more reluctant about being your friend in the beginning, but that was years ago.”

Draco looked around suddenly, “Is this the third floor corridor?”

Hermione bit her lip and looked down, tucking a curl behind her ear. “I was… thinking we could…”

“Hermione Granger, did you bring me to the Room of Requirement so we could spend some time alone together?” Draco asked archly. 

“I don’t… I mean… I was just thinking…”

“It would be nice to be with you,” Draco said softly, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her close, “without prying eyes or anything.”

Hermione’s shy grin brightened, “That’s what I was thinking.”

They walked the hallway three times, hand in hand again, and when Draco opened the door, he grinned widely at the room he saw inside. 

The room resembled Sirius and Remus’ living room, although the arrangement and some decorations were different. 

“It looks cozy,” Hermione noted as she walked in and sat on the plus couch. “I like the music too.”

“That must have been you,” Draco said with a grin as he pulled his robe off and draped it across the sitting chair as he rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. He sat on the couch beside Hermione and rested his arm along the back of the couch. “I don’t know what type of music this is.”

“It’s muggle music,” she explained with a laugh as she shifted closer to Draco. “I was sure Sirius would have played some.”

“He did,” Draco grinned as he wrapped an arm around Hermione and pulled her closer until she was leaning against his chest. “Almost constantly. But I can’t tell any of it apart yet and don’t recognize this.”

Hermione lifted a hand to Draco’s cheek. “I’ll make you a list. You can impress him next time you see him.”

“Can we stop talking about Sirius?” He asked, his lips nearly grazing across hers. Draco watched as the corners of Hermione’s eyes crinkled in a smile before he finally moved the final centimeters and brought their lips together. 

*

Hermione leaned over Harry’s shoulder in the Common Room and softly said, “Remus, thank you for that advice! A couple of us managed wordless spells! Not consistently, but I think it’s a really great sign.”

Remus and Sirius both grinned widely. “Have you really? You’ve only been back at school for a couple of weeks! That’s so fantastic! Most fifth years can’t do wordless magic at all!” Sirius said. 

Remus nodded. “It’s not on the curriculum until sixth year, and even then most students struggle with it.”

“And remember,” Sirius said, leaning toward the mirror. “Continue practicing the verbal spells too. Nonverbal spells can be incredibly beneficial when dueling, but they also tend to be weaker.”

Harry nodded. “We’re going to do both going forward.”

“Listen, Harry,” Sirius said softly, “Remus and I are likely going to be busy the next few days doing work for the Order. If it takes longer than three days, I promise I’ll send an owl or Dobby, alright?”

“But there’s a chance we’ll be able to talk tomorrow,” Remus pointed out. “We’re just not sure how long this will take.”

“Okay,” Harry said slowly. “Can you tell me what it is?”

Sirius chewed on his lip for a moment before sighing deeply. “We can’t tell you everything, but Dumbledore asked us to look for a magical artifact that he believes is very important.”

“And since we’re the only two Order members who don’t have jobs or kids to take care of, we’re the best candidates to do it,” Remus pointed out.

“But we promise we’ll be careful,” Sirius said, leaning over and kissing Remus on the cheek. “Now that I’ve got this guy back, I won’t do anything to let him get hurt.”

*

“Please pin this above your prefect’s badge,” Umbridge said as she held out a large pin to Draco. “This represents that your role as leader of the Inquisitorial Squad is more important than your role as a prefect.”

“But… I didn’t volunteer to be in the Inquisitorial Squad,” Draco protested.

“Yes, I did notice that,” Umbridge sniffed. “However, your father told me, specifically, that you would assist me.”

Draco gulpsed. “Oh. Then. Of course. I wouldn’t go against my father’s wishes. Obviously. I just didn’t realize… he never said....”

Umbridge pressed the pin into Draco’s hand before she turned away from him. “Yes, well, we speak regularly. Make sure that goes above your prefect’s badge, mind you.”

Draco stared down at the pin in his hand in horror for a moment before mechanically pinning it onto his robes and turning to leave the office. He rushed straight to the Room of Requirement, thrusting his wand into the Galleon so that he could summon Harry and the rest without alerting the entire DA. 

He paced frantically in the room until the others started trickling in. He wasn’t surprised to see Fred and George come in behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione. 

She walked straight up to Draco. “What’s wrong?” she asked, smoothing his hair. He knew he had been pulling at it while he paced, and he must look frightful.

He turned and pointed at the pin. “Umbridge said my father volunteered me.”

Everyone stared in horror at the pin. They all knew what it meant. 

“Just… say no,” Harry says with a shrug.

“I can’t!” Draco says, pulling at his hair. “I can’t publicly go against them! It would be suicide.”

“But Draco, come on,” Hermione says consolingly, reaching for him. “You’re safe here.”

“But that’s just it! I’m only safe here! Hermione, you don’t know what it’s like when I have to go home. You don’t know…” he trails off and stares down at his hands. “If I go against them, publicly, they’ll pull me out of Hogwarts instantly. If I’m lucky they’ll send me to Durmstrang. I’m sure they want me to take the Dark Mark. I… wouldn’t have a choice.” He looks up at them finally and his eyes are haunted. “I wouldn’t have a choice.”

“But they wouldn’t make you take it… already, would they?” Hermione asked. “You’re still underage.”

Draco laughed humorlessly. “That wouldn’t matter. The Dark Lord used to swear in teenagers all the time. I think it was part of the plan. Like, if I was a Death Eater, I could then recruit more kids who are still in Hogwarts to join. That’s why I didn’t want to go home for the holidays.”

“That’s messed up,” Ron whispered. “But it also kind of makes sense. Remember Sirius talking about how they wanted to join the Order while they were still in school? They said it was only fair. He must have been referring to the Death Eaters recruiting active students.”

Harry bit his lip and nodded. “You could run away,” he said so softly they almost couldn’t hear him. 

Draco looked desperately at Harry for a few seconds before nodding. “I might have to. I won’t be a Death Eater. I won’t.”

Hermione reached out and held his hand. “You know we’ll be there for you, no matter what.” 

He nodded and tried to smile. “So what are we going to do about Umbridge? She obviously doesn’t know that I’m in the DA, or she wouldn’t have asked me to join her Inquisitorial Squad.”

“Well, you have to join it, obviously,” Harry said. “You’ll be a double agent.”

“But--”

Harry interrupted him before he could protest. “Look, you said yourself that you’re only safe here at Hogwarts so long as your parents think you’re still playing the good pure-blood, right? So play along with Umbridge. I mean, obviously don’t turn us in, but pretend you’re about as competent as Crabbe and Goyle.” Draco scoffed but Harry continued. “The Inquisitorial Squad is definitely going to be a lot lower stakes than becoming an actual Death Eater. I’m pretty sure she’s just going to give you a whistle or something, not some kind of cursed scar.” 

Hermione squeezed Draco’s hand, “This will buy time.”

Draco sighed deeply. “Just a year and a half and I’ll turn 17 and then I don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

“17?” Harry asked. 

Draco laughed and raised an eyebrow, “You know that we come of age at 17, right?”

“Not 18?” Harry glanced at Hermione, his expert at helping him understand the differences between the wizarding and muggle words. 

She shook her head. “It’s 17 in the wizarding world.”

*

“You’re not working hard enough!” Snape snapped one evening as Draco helped Harry rise to his feet again. 

“Well I’m sorry that I’m still having trouble understanding why exactly I need to do this!” Harry shouted back. “I don’t want Voldemort in my head any more than Dumbledore does, but so far it’s been pretty damn helpful!”

Snape and Draco both froze. 

“What?” Draco whispered finally. 

Harry glanced sideways at Draco, who was still clutching Harry’s arm. He bit his lip and looked down. “The things I’ve seen… what if they’re important? They’ve been scary as hell in the moment, but…” He looked up at Snape. “I helped them save Mr. Weasley right before Christmas break, remember? What if I see something else that can help the Order? Or… what if I get good at occlumency and then I miss seeing something, and then someone dies?”

Snape sighed before sitting down slowly. “You’re so bloody Gryffindor it makes my teeth hurt,” he grumbled while he rubbed his forehead. After a moment he looked back up at the pair of boys. “You realize that you’re saying that you’re willing to sacrifice your sanity and your life just to possibly get the opportunity to help someone, right?” 

Harry swallowed audibly and then nodded. 

“Sir…” Draco started softly. “Can you help Harry… can you help _us_ understand why occlumency is so important for Harry to learn? I understand why it is for me, but… if Harry is ever near the Dark Lord… occlumency probably won’t be at the top of his concerns.”

Snape rubbed at his forehead again before dropping his hand and staring first at Draco and then at Harry. “Dumbledore believes that the Dark Lord was unaware of your… connection before Christmas. He likely was unaware that you were… observing some of his experiences. However, he is now aware of the connection. Dumbledore is worried, rightly so, I believe, that the Dark Lord will seek to take advantage of that connection.”

“You think he’ll try to control me?” Harry asked sharply. 

Snape shook his head tiredly.

“But he could… he could manipulate you,” Draco said slowly. “Or… set a trap for the Order, right? If he can make you think that someone else has been attacked, you’ll send Remus or Sirius or someone… but this time they wouldn’t find an injured Order member…”

“They’d find a group of Death Eaters waiting for them,” Snape finished off. 

“Fuck,” Harry breathed out. 

“Exactly,” Snape agreed. “Potter, you were right, that first night. I don’t like you, but not for the reasons you think. I don’t like you, but I will do everything in my power to keep you alive. And if that means that the three of us have to deal with the unpleasantness that comes with you both trying to learn occlumency, then I’m still going to do everything I can.”

Harry laughed humorlessly. “Well, one of us has been learning it well enough at least,” he said, glancing at Draco. “I’ll… try harder though.”

*

Hermione sighed happily as she turned the page in her book. She was sitting sideways on a couch and leaning against Draco, who had one arm slung over her chest while he read his own book. 

The whole group had been excited when they realized they could use the Room of Requirement to simply hang out in, instead of just practicing for the DA. Now they spent at least one or two evenings a week here, sometimes studying, sometimes laughing and talking, sometimes practicing whatever spells or charms they were learning that week. 

Hermione was practiced at tuning out the sound of the twins demonstrating their newest product, but she couldn’t help but smile as she continued reading. Fred and Harry had been practically inseparable the last few weeks, so while they usually saw a lot of the twins, they had been seeing even more of them lately. Hermione also had never seen Harry smile this much before, so as much as the Weasley’s trick products did bother her quite often, she was finding herself unable to actually be angry with them. 

Ron shouted something as Luna apparently scored a point on him. 

They were playing, of all sports, basketball. 

Seamus had proposed it one day and everyone else had quickly taken to it. Some of the kids from wizarding families complained at first about how simplistic the game was, and Hermione figured that the single ball and one hoop for each team did look simplistic compared to quidditch, but they had devolved into gleeful laughter upon playing it for the first time. 

Hermione was pretty sure that everyone was playing wrong, at least a little bit, but they were also having a great time, so who was she to say anything?

She chuckled softly as she looked back down at her book when she realized that she hadn’t even looked at it after turning the page. 

“What’s this?” 

Draco glanced at her as she unfolded a piece of paper that turned out to be from… a muggle newspaper?

“Tragic Mystery at the Riddle Estate,” Draco read aloud. “Wait, Riddle, like the diary?”

“I suppose so,” Hermione mused. “But I don’t… I don’t understand. This is from a muggle newspaper. So, the Riddles were muggles?”

“Then how would a diary with one of their names on it be cursed to open the Chamber of Secrets?” Draco wondered. Harry had asked Dumbledore for explanations second year when he turned the diary over, but Dumbledore had promised to explain when he was older. “What’s the second article say?”

Hermione flipped to the second paper. This one was clearly from the Daily Prophet. “Gaunt Arrested in Shocking Multiple Muggle Massacre.”

“Who’s Gaunt?” Dracon asked, leaning closer to skim through the article. 

“Gaunt…” Hermione said slowly. “That name… I’ve read that name.” She flipped through the book on her lap and landed on the chapter about Salazar Slytherin’s descendents. “Look,” she said pointing. “The Gaunts claimed to be the last direct descendents of Salazar Slytherin. They were apparently impoverished when their family line died out. But… I don’t understand the connection between this family and the murder and the diary.” Hermione stared down at the book for a long moment before jumping and looking up. “Harry!” 

“What?” Harry asked, continuing to try to catch Ron, who was holding the basketball. 

“I think Sirius slipped me a clue!”

“What?” Harry finally came toward where they were sitting on the other side of the room.

“You know how Dumbledore doesn’t want us to know everything until after we come of age? Well, I think Sirius gave me a clue.”

Harry leaned forward. “I know he wants to tell us. He thinks Dumbledore is being unnecessarily restrictive. What’s the clue?”

“Well, I’m not really sure what it means yet, but look at this… It’s an article about the last descendent of Slytherin murdering a bunch of muggles.”

“And the muggles were named Riddle, like that cursed diary my dad had that was supposed to open the Chamber of Secrets,” Draco added.

“That seems… important, right?” Hermione finished, looking at Harry as he skimmed through the articles.

“Well, the last _known_ descendents, right?” Ron asked as he sat down on the floor next to Harry.

“What?” Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows at him. 

Ron shrugged. “That’s just always what they say about the founders, right? Like, ‘so-and-so was the last known descendent’ or even ‘so-and-so is a possible or supposed descendent of this founder.’ Because it was so long ago that they aren’t super sure anymore.” Ron glanced around before finally settling on Draco. “Right?”

He nodded, “Yea. There are many families that claim to be descended from the founders, but there are very few claims that have been substantiated.”

Harry stared down at the article. “Sirius said they’re looking for magical artifacts, right? Do you think they could be looking for something of Slytherin’s? Or maybe, if the diary was Slytherin’s, maybe they’re looking for other founders’ artifacts?” The group was quiet for a moment before Harry looked back up at Hermione. “Can you keep researching? I feel like you’re right. I think Sirius gave you that on purpose.”

“I’m descended from a founder,” Zacharias Smith said from behind them. 

“You?” Ron asked scornfully. “Your last name is Smith. Isn’t that like, the most common name in the UK?”

“Sure,” Zacharias replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “But my family can trace our line all the way back to Helga Hufflepuff herself.”

Ron opened his mouth to speak, but Harry placed a hand on his shoulder to pause him. “Zacharias, does your family have any old artifacts from Helga?”

“What, you mean like her Cup?” Zacharias still had his arms across his chest, and he shrugged as he spoke. 

“Yea, sure,” Harry said as he waved his hand vaguely. “I don’t know. Anything that would count as an artifact.”

Zacharias shrugged. “Her cup’s been missing for, like, a hundred years or something. My dad said that someone in our family used to have it, but nobody knows where it is now.”

“Why do you need Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup?” Ginny asked as she and Luna came to lean against the couch. 

“I don’t know that we do,” Hermione answered. “But Sirius and Remus told us they’ve been looking for magical artifacts, and then they gave me this book about the founders… so… we think it might be a clue.”

“Founders’s artifacts?” Luna said dreamily, “You mean like Rowena’s Diadem?”

“Yea, like that,” Hermione agreed. “But hopefully something that’s… you know… not famously been missing for, like, a thousand years.”

“I wish we could find it,” Harry said. “Or the Cup. It would be so great if we could help Sirius and…” he trailed off as he stared down at his hands. “What’s this? A tiara?”

“Harry… how did you…?”

Harry flipped the tiara over. “I don’t know! I just said… and then…”

Luna lifted the tiara out of Harry’s hands. “Harry. This is Rowena Ravenclaw’s Lost Diadem. I recognize it from the statue in our Common Room.”

“Is it… is it real?” Draco asked. “Or will it just disappear when we leave the room?”

“Has it been hidden in the Room of Requirement this whole time?” Ginny asked as she stared at Luna with wide eyes.

“Dobby?” Draco said and several of the DA members gasped at the sudden appearance of the elf. 

“Oh hello!” Dobby squealed with excitement before bouncing between each of the four of them and giving out hugs. 

“Dobby, we have a question to ask Sirius, but he might be doing something important. Can you subtly check?”

“Of course! I can be very stealthy,” Dobby said with an excited squeak before disappearing. He popped back in a moment later. “Sirius just arrived home a moment ago! He said you can use the mirror, if you’d like. Or I’d be happy to continue helping you.”

Harry patted Dobby on the back with a grin before waving his wand, “ _Accio_ bag.” He pulled the mirror out of his bag and carefully opened the case he used to protect it. “Thank you so much Dobby.”

After a moment, Sirius’ face appeared. He looked tired, but he grinned at Harry. “Do we have an audience?” 

“We do,” Harry laughed. “Just the regular crew, plus a few extra folks. All DA members though, so we’re good.”

Remus leaned into the frame. “It’s good to see you Harry. And everyone else, I take it you’re all well?”

“We are,” Harry said. “How was your secret mission?”

Sirius laughed, “Fruitless, as all of the rest of them have been. But Dumbledore didn’t seem surprised. I’m actually starting to think that he just has us confirming that he’s correct about where the artifact _won’t_ be, rather than looking for where it might be.”

Hermione leaned forward and interrupted before Harry had a chance to respond. “So Sirius, it took me a couple weeks, but I’m finally almost done with the book you gave me for Christmas.”

“Oh yea?” Sirius asked with surprise before his expression settled into a wide grin. “How are you enjoying it?”

“It’s so interesting! It’s so interesting that I was actually thinking about doing more research about the founders and their descendents. You or Remus don’t have any other books on the topic, do you?”

“Actually, we do,” Sirius responded, his grin getting somehow wider. “And since you asked for them, completely based on your own choices and not influenced by me at all, of course I’ll send them to you. I would never deprive anyone the chance to research about a topic they’re interested in.”

“Thank you, Sirius. I’m very grateful,” Hermione answered, her grin as wide as Sirius’. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about where this book came from, would you?”

“That one? It’s second-hand, although the person who had it before you was very knowledgeable in that specific topic,” Sirius added.

Remus squinted at Sirius and asked in a whisper, “What book did you give her?” 

“Oh just something about the founders and their descendents,” Sirius said casually. 

Remus simply stared at Sirius for a moment before he began laughing softly. “Mooney, you never cease to surprise me.” He turned to look at Hermione. “Of course, there’s nothing wrong with gifting you a published book. We all know how much you love reading Hermione, and since you’ve inquired, we do in fact have a few books in the house right now that we can lend you. I wouldn’t have suggested them, myself, since I find them a little dry, but if you think you’ll enjoy them, I would never prevent you from pursuing your interests.”

“There’s one other thing,” Harry said as he reached his hand out to Luna, who handed the diadem back to him. “We were talking about founders and artifacts, and you know how the Room of Requirement just sort of… gives you what you need? Well, I’m pretty sure we just got Rowena Ravenclaw’s… what’s it called again?”

“Her Lost Diadem,” Draco finished. “Which seems kind of like a big deal.”

Sirius and Remus’ jaws both dropped. “You… you what?” Remus managed to stammer after a moment. “You… just found it?”

“It literally appeared in my hands,” Harry said with a crooked grin.

Sirius was rubbing at his forehead. He looked up at Harry. “Is Dobby still there? Can you send a message to Albus? He’s definitely going to want to know about it.” He laughed awkwardly. “You can tell him about the book, if he asks, but maybe don’t volunteer that information?”

“I’ll go!” Dobby squeaked as he leaned across Harry so Sirius could see him. “Professor Dumbledore is always so gracious when I visit him!”

“Thanks Dobby,” Remus said with a grin.

* _pop*_

Harry turned to smile at Draco and Hermione, but he grin faded slightly as he took in the faces of the other DA members. 

“Do you… do you regularly carry that mirror with you? And just… talk to Sirius Black and Professor Lupin with it?” Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Uh… yea… why?” Harry responded slowly. 

“I know he’s your god-father,” Luna explained. “But I didn’t realize he’d be so… parental.”

“And helpful,” Neville added. “He really tells you what he does for Dumbledore? I kind of thought you guys were… you know… exaggerating when you talked about him and Professor Lupin.”

* _pop*_

“Harry Potter!” Dobby said with a wide grin. “Professor Dumbledore asked you to come to his office! His password for tonight is ‘Shock-o-Choc.’ He said you can bring the regular people.”

Harry nodded and patted Dobby on the shoulder gently before rising. He turned to look back at the rest of the group. “Sirius is fantastic,” he said. “And Remus is too. I don’t know how I’d be getting through any of this without them. Honestly.” He glanced at Ron, Hermione, and Draco. “Ready?”

The three of them nodded and rose with him. Harry stepped toward Fred and they kissed quickly before Harry continued toward the exit. 

Draco was the last one out the door and he smirked as he heard Blaise’s voice drift across the room as he stepped out, “Is this really what it’s like spending time with the Boy Who Lived? It’s bloody bizarre.”

Draco made sure the door closed firmly behind him before picking up his pace to catch up with Hermione.

“Harry did you check the Map?” Hermione whispered. “I’d really rather not run into Umbridge right now.”

Harry was nodding as she spoke and had the Marauder’s Map out before Hermione had finished speaking. After a moment of surveying it, he nodded and tapped it before folding it back up. “She’s in her office,” he answered softly.

“Dobby where is Dumbledore’s office?” Ron asked. “We don’t know how to get there.”

“Follow me,” Dobby said with a small wave. “I’m taking you there. We’re not far.”

Draco slipped his hand into Hermione’s and grinned when she squeezed his fingers. They walked quietly until they stopped in front of a statue tucked in a nook in the wall. 

“Shock-o-Choc!” Dobby proudly declared. They followed him up the magically winding steps behind the statue until they stepped into Dumbledore’s office. 

“Thank you very much, Dobby,” Dumbledore said from where he was sitting behind his desk. “Perhaps you’d like to visit the other elves downstairs?”

“Yes, sir! Thank you, Professor!” Dobby quickly gave hugs before popping out of the room. 

Harry shifted and pulled the diadem out of his bag. 

Dumbledore rose from his desk and gestured for Harry to place it on his desk. 

“Did anybody place it on their head?” He asked softly as Harry stepped back.

“No,” Hermione answered quickly. “Several of us touched it, and Luna studied it quite closely, but nobody put it on.”

“Quite right,” Dumbledore said as he placed it on his desk. “Well, thank you so much for bringing this to me. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

“But… won’t you tell us about it?” Harry asked, stepping forward slightly. “We want to help. All of us. And look! We can be helpful! If you tell us what you’re looking for--”

“Harry,” Dumbledore said, holding his hand up for quiet. “I will tell you everything you need to know, in time. However, tonight is not that time. I’m assuming that Sirius told you he was looking for artifacts that belonged to the founders of Hogwarts?”

“No!” Harry and Ron blurted at the same time. 

“He said they were looking for artifacts, but not who they belonged to or anything. Just. Artifacts,” Harry explained.

“And then we were talking tonight about the founders,” Hermione added on. “And Zacharias Smith said he was descended from Helga Hufflepuff. And then Harry asked if he had any artifacts, you know, like family heirlooms.”

“And then… it just went from there,” Harry finished. 

“Hmm,” Dumbledore said with a small squint as he studied each student in front of him. “I’m glad to know that Sirius isn’t that loose-tongued.” He looked carefully at all four of them. “Can I assume that there are no secrets between the four of you?”

“None,” Harry responded confidently. 

“So then I can ask about the progress that you and Draco are making in occlumency?” 

Harry winced. “Well, Draco is doing well.”

“But you’re getting better!” Draco protested. “Even Snape said you weren’t terrible anymore.”

Ron snorted and Dumbledore pursed his lips in a way that might have been his attempt at suppressing a smile. 

“Professor Snape has always been… creative with his praise,” Dumbledore said with a small nod. 

*

Draco squinted his eyes open and then jumped up, grabbing his wand. 

Harry’s stag patronus was stomping angrily around his bed. The glow from it must have been what woke him up. When it saw that he was sitting up, it spoke with Harry’s voice. “Get dressed. Meet us in the room as soon as you can. Hurry.” Then it vanished into wisps of smoke. 

Get dressed? 

Draco grabbed the outfit he had laid out for himself before going to bed and slipped into his shoes before he grabbed his school robes and dashed for the door. Once he closed it behind him, he whispered, “ _Expecto Patronum_. I’m on my way.” The patronus ghosted away ahead of him. He knew it would find Harry long before he managed to get to the Room of Requirement, and if Harry wanted him badly enough to wake him up, then he’d probably appreciate the message. 

He hoped that nobody was hurt. The last time this had happened, Harry had dreamt about Mr. Weasley almost dying.

Draco’s patronus, while it wasn’t entirely corporeal yet, at least had a definitive shape to it now. Ron kept laughing and saying that it looked like a weasel, but Hermione and Harry both thought it looked more like a small seal. Just his luck, he thought to himself as he quietly rushed through the common room and into the hall. Luckily he didn’t run into anyone in the dark hallways, and made it to the Room of Requirement in record time. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he burst into the room. 

“It’s Sirius,” Hermione explained shortly as she reached a hand out to Draco from where she was standing next to Harry. He rushed to her and laced their fingers together. 

Draco gripped Harry’s shoulder where he was sitting on the edge of the couch, hunched over the mirror. “Sirius? Sirius! Remus!” 

They all glanced at the door as it opened. “I sent Hedwig. Anything from the mirror?” Ron asked.

“No,” Harry groaned out as he pulled at his hair with his free hand. “Shit.” He handed the mirror to Hermione and started pacing. “Dobby?” 

They all waited silently for Dobby to appear, but after a few seconds, Draco’s mouth fell open. 

“What happened?” he asked in a whisper, afraid of the answer. 

“I had another fucking dream,” Harry answered, turning finally to face Draco. His eyes were wide and his hair was messier than Draco had ever seen it before. “I had another dream. Apparently my progress at occlumency doesn’t mean anything when I’m asleep. Voldemort was torturing Sirius and Dobby. Together. Inside the Ministry. I think Sirius was guarding whatever it is that Mr. Weasley was guarding before Christmas. I don’t know why Dobby was there, but you know he’s almost as devoted to Sirius as he is to us. I…” He pulled at his hair again. “He was using _crucio_ on them. I… I heard their screams.”

“Shit,” Draco breathed out and Hermione squeezed his hand. “Where’s Dumbledore?”

“Gone,” Harry said with a hysterical laugh. “McGonnagal said he was on an emergency mission, except when I told her about Sirius, she was surprised. So Dumbledore didn’t go to rescue him.”

“What did she say when you told him about Sirius?”

“That Dumbledore would handle it when he got back!” Harry shouted. “And then she implied that I should be practicing occlumency more! Like I haven’t already been doing that every single day!”

“But… but did she try to contact Dumbledore?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said before dropping to the couch. “She told me to go back to sleep.”

Ron snorted.

The door opened again and Fred and George came in. They were holding cloaks and jackets. “Are we doing this?” Fred asked as he came up to Harry and pressed a kiss to his hair. 

“Doing what?” Harry asked weakly. 

“Rescuing Sirius, of course,” George responded as he handed out cloaks.

“But we still don’t know… it could be a trap,” Hermione whispered. 

“Even if it is, I can’t risk that they’ve really got him!” Harry said angrily, sitting up. 

“But we can’t risk going to the Ministry if Voldemort is really there!” Hermione said more strongly. “What if Sirius is just… on one of his missions? And perfectly safe?”

“Hermione,” Harry said and his voice took on a more pleading note. “I heard them screaming.”

* _pop_ *

Hermione screamed at the sight of Dobby as both Harry and Draco dove to their knees to catch him as he wobbled and then collapsed. 

Draco pulled his wand out, muttering frantic, “ _episky”_ s at each of the wounds that seeped blood from Dobby’s small body. 

“Draco,” Dobby muttered softly, “Master Draco is so… good…” 

Draco let out a small sob as Harry leaned forward, “Dobby what happened?”

“I didn’t… I wouldn’t… Harry…” Dobby’s head lolled to the side for a moment before he turned back to Draco. “I’m sorry Master Draco…”

“What?” Draco asked aghast. “What could you possibly apologize for? Dobby… I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“I’m sorry,” Dobby muttered again before his eyes fell shut. 

“He’s still breathing,” Hermione said softly. “It must just be… the blood loss.”

“We’ll take him to Madame Pomfrey,” Ron said decisively, kneeling down next to Harry and Draco. “Hermione, summon the DA, alright? Harry, we’ll leave as soon as we have a plan. Yea?”

Harry stared blankly at Ron before glancing up at Fred and George. “The DA?”

“Yea,” Fred said with a small smile. “You weren’t planning on leaving the rest of us out of it, were you? Plus, this is part of why we’ve been training, isn’t it? To fight You Know Who.”

“No… I…”

Draco elbowed Harry softly. “We’re all going together, or you’re not going at all.”

Harry nodded once before looking back at Ron. “You’ll meet us back here?”

Ron nodded and slipped his arms under Dobby’s thin body. “We’ll hurry.”

“We’ll keep ‘em safe,” George said as he and Fred followed Ron out the door. 

Draco turned to Harry again. “When did Ron learn how to take control of things?”

Harry shrugged as he stared down at his bloody hands. “It must be from his mom. She’s always taking control of things.”

Hermione kneeled across from Harry and Draco and pointed her wand at their hands. “ _Scourgify_.”

“Thanks,” Draco said with a small smile as all of the blood disappeared. 

“Do either of you have any ideas about how to get to the Ministry?” Hermione asked.

“We could fly?” Harry suggested with a small shrug.

“Not everyone has a broom,” Draco pointed out, noticing the look of discomfort in Hermione’s eyes. 

“Fred and George can apparate,” Harry said. “But I don’t know if they’ve ever practiced taking someone along for side-along apparition.”

Draco pursed his lips. “If one of us gets splinched along the way, we won’t be much use in trying to rescue Sirius.”

“Plus we’d need to get off the Hogwarts property before they could even apparate,” Hermione reminded.

Harry sat up suddenly. “Because no human can apparate or disapparate on the Hogwarts property. But Dobby can.” Hermione and Draco exchanged glances. “Remember Dumbledore suggesting that Dobby hang out with the other elves? There are more of them! We can ask them for help!”

“You think they would help us?” Draco asked. “If they work here, they might not be allowed to leave whenever they want…”

Harry shook his head. “I feel like even if Dumbledore has some contract like that with them, he worked in some sort of loophole. We just have to figure it out.”

The door opened and the Hufflepuff members of the DA came in, quickly followed by the Gryffindors. After a few more minutes, Fred, George, and Ron returned, and then the Ravenclaws and Blaise showed up. 

Draco stood up and quickly explained the situation. Harry joined in and they finished talking together.

“Well, I could bring you to the kitchens,” Zacharias said. “And introduce you to Loddy. He’s the head house-elf down there.”

“Do you think they would agree to apparate us to the Ministry?” Hermione asked.

Zacharias crossed his arms and sighed. “Probably. They’re always enthusiastic when it comes to helping any of us that go to visit them. And they must leave at some point to get the food, right? Because they can’t just make it.” He looked around the room. “They might be willing to go, but I won’t.”

“What?” Ron asked with a frown. 

“Look,” Zacharias said. “I wanted to join the DA so I could learn to defend myself. And I’m so glad, because that Umbridge woman is daft and useless. But just because you taught me how to defend myself doesn’t mean that I’m going to go pick a fight with Death Eaters. That’s insane.”

“Insane?” Harry shouted, and opened his mouth to continue, but looked over at Draco, who had just placed a hand on his arm.

Draco stepped toward Zacharias and spoke softly. “So don’t come. We’d appreciate your help with the kitchen elves, but we don’t want to force you to come. And we don’t want to babysit you if you don’t want to be there.” A few other students glanced between Draco and Zacharias. “Honestly, all of you. We aren’t forcing you. We’re asking for your help. We won’t kick you out of the DA or anything if you don’t want to come.”

“You’re not going to… I don’t know… try to manipulate or force us into coming?” Zacharias asked, his arms falling to his sides. 

Draco snorted. “What good would you be then? The Dark Lord uses fear to make people follow him. We don’t.”

“I don’t know,” Zacharias said with a shrug. “I figured, because you’re a Slytherin and all… honestly… I’m even surprised that you’re going at all. I’d expect it from the Gryffindors. This is their kind of thoughtless bravery that makes sense. But I figured you’d be more reasonable.”

“How dare…” Draco started but paused when Blaise placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Smith, you clearly don’t know what you’re talking about, so I advise you shut your trap for the rest of the night.” Blaise stalked over to tower over Zacharias as he spoke. The Hufflepuff boy shrank back silently as Blaise towered over him and continued speaking. “Yes, Slytherins are known to look out for our own self-interests, but we are also fiercely protective of those we call our own.”

Zacharias gulped as he looked past Blaise at Draco.

“Now,” Blaise continued, turning to survey the rest of the room before finally settling on Harry. “I assume we’re ready to go, yes?”

Harry nodded. “If you want to come with us, follow me. If not…”

“Stay here,” Draco finished. “Let Dumbledore know where we went and what happened. We’re not sure if McGonagall passed the message to him.”

“You… you’re not mad at us?” A quiet Hufflepuff girl asked. 

“No,” Harry replied before lacing his fingers with Fred’s. “But we’ve got to go. Zacharias, can you take us to the kitchens now? The rest of you, stay here, or wait for Dumbledore somewhere closer to his office, it’s on the fourth floor closer to the Main Hall.” He looked around. “If you’re coming with us, stay quiet in the hallways.”

Draco was impressed to see most people follow them out of the hall. They made their way to the kitchens quickly and after only a few minutes of talking, the elves agreed to transport the DA to the Ministry of Magic.

“We can only take you to the main entrance,” Loddy said. “We have been forbidden from going into the Department of Mysteries, but we won’t stop you from going.”

Draco blinked. “The Department of Mysteries?”

Loddy nodded. “It sounds like the place Mr. Harry Potter is describing. It is the only place in the Ministry that none of us are familiar with, and it is the only place the Professor Dumbledore has forbidden us from going, so that makes me think that’s where all this is happening.”

“He forbade you from going there, but you’ll still take us to the Ministry?” Hermione asked.

Loddy shrugged. “I have worked for Professor Dumbledore for a long time. He will not be angry about us taking you. He is specific like this on purpose. He doesn’t want us to take you inside the Department of Mysteries, but he always insists that we do whatever we can to help the students, and since you are saying that you need help to get to the Ministry, we can do that.”

An elf slipped his hand into Draco’s and he looked down in surprise before glancing around and seeing that each member of the DA was accompanied by their own elf now. Draco was expecting the feeling he associated with apparating - like being yanked off balance, but instead, he simply inhaled in the Hogwarts kitchens, blinked, and exhaled inside the main entryway of the Ministry. 

“That’s… it?” he heard Ron ask, his voice thick with confusion. 

Draco watched as Loddy handed Harry a small bell. “Ring this three times if you need us to come back to get you. We can’t wait here. We need to be back at Hogwarts.” With that, all of the elves disappeared and left the DA members standing alone in the dimly lit chamber. 

Harry glanced around at everyone with wide eyes before pocketing the bell and whispering, “Come on, it’s this way.”

Fred and George exchanged looks before stepping to either side of Harry. Hermione, Ron and Ginny followed close behind them. 

“I’ll watch our backs,” Blaise murmured to Draco, who nodded and hurried to catch up with Harry. As he walked, he pulled out the small black card he carried in his pocket at all times. He tapped it with his wand several times to send a small message to Sirius, “ _H dreamt V was torturing you in the DoM. We’re here to rescue you. Trap? Help?”_

He tucked it back in his pocket and looked up as they reached a staircase. “It’s down this way,” Harry said as he looked around at the group. “You’re all sure?”

“Harry, we’re already in this far,” Neville said in his quiet but firm voice. “We’re not turning back.”

Draco glanced at Hermione and slipped his hand into hers. 

The next half hour passed in a blur and confusion and panic. They realized pretty quickly that Sirius wasn’t there, and while Harry scanned the rows of glass balls, Draco pulled the black card out of his pocket again. The message had changed to “ _on our way”_ and Draco sighed deeply.

“What’s that?” Neville asked, drawing everyone’s attention to the lights moving toward them quickly. 

“Shit,” Harry breathed out. “It’s Death Eaters.”

Fred and George both stepped in front of Harry instantly. “Go,” Fred said resolutely. “We’ll slow them down.”

“You’re not doing any such thing,” Harry growled, grabbing Fred’s arm. “You’re coming with us.”

“No arguing,” Hermione said sharply. “Just running.”

Draco pushed at the members of the DA who were nearest the end of the row, glad that they were sensible enough to start running while Harry and Fred argued. As he turned, though, he saw a flash of blond hair and froze. Was that his father? He couldn’t face his parents right now. He couldn’t. 

One of the Death Eaters suddenly pointed a wand at the DA, but another grabbed their arm and pointed it away. A red blast of light shot out of the wand and hit a glass ball above them, causing it to explode and shower glass down on them.

“The Dark Lord wants him unharmed,” Draco heard his father snarl and he winced. Had his father just protected them? Or was he just following Voldemort’s orders? 

The other Death Eater smack at Lucius’ arm. “I was only going to stun them!”

“Run!” Harry shouted, and they all turned and started sprinting. The path ahead of them went straight out, and the exit was just ahead and Draco knew that if they could just get through and close the door, they could lock it and have at least a moment of safety to get a head start on escape. 

He glanced behind him and cursed, there were three Death Eaters gaining on them, with the rest still moderately far behind.

 _“Stupefy!”_ He and Ron shouted at the same moment. One of the Death Eaters collapsed and Draco nearly stumbled as he saw the eyes of the center Death Eater. 

“Mother?” He gasped as he heard the sound of the door opening ahead of them. Just a few more steps. 

Draco looked forward and was relieved to see everyone safely through the door. Ron grabbed his arm as he hesitated again and he turned back just in time to see his mother stun the Death Eater next to her, who collapsed at her feet as she leapt toward himself and Ron, pushing them both through the door and slamming it behind them. 

She spun instantly and pointed her wand at the door and did a nonverbal locking spell. 

“Draco!” She hissed as she turned back to him and tore her mask off. “What on Earth are you doing here? With them?”

“I could ask you the same thing!” He shouted back as the doors around them began to spin. 

“Draco,” his mother’s voice took on a pleading note as the doors continued spinning. “Draco, baby, they all saw you. Didn’t you think about that?” She groaned as she looked around at the group. “Did you summon the Order? Are they coming to rescue you? I can’t believe you let him come here tonight! Didn’t you realize it was a trap?”

“Of course we did!” Draco snapped. “But after what you all did to Dobby, we couldn’t risk letting Sirius get killed! Even if it was a trap!”

“Dobby?” Narcissa asked, pulling back with her eyes wide in surprise. “What happened to Dobby?”

The doors slowed and Ginny reached for the nob closest to her. “Don’t!” Narcissa snapped. “Those all lead deeper into the Department of Mysteries.”

Everyone slowly turned to stare at Narcissa, who hung her head. “Damn.” She looked back up. “Is the Order coming? I can’t rescue you on my own without abandoning your father, and I don’t want to do that either.”

“They should be on their way,” Draco whispered, the horror of what his mother was proposing starting to dawn on him. “Mother--”

“ _Invenire exitus_ ,” she said strongly, and a golden light flew out of her wand and straight to a single door. “Open that one, and don’t close it again until you’re all out. That will lead you back to the normal levels of the Ministry.” 

“But Mother--”

“You have to stun me,” she said to Draco as she embraced him quickly. “And lock the door behind you. It’ll only slow them, but hopefully it’ll be enough.” She winced and looked down at her arm. “Hurry! He’s coming!”

“Mother, no--”

Hermione stepped forward and grabbed Draco’s arms. “You’re sure?” She whispered to his mother, who nodded frantically. Hermione nodded in response and looked to Draco who stared helplessly as tears fell from his eyes. 

Narcissa nodded again. “Hermione. Do it now.”

Hermione swallowed and glanced at Draco again, before raising her wand and whispering, “ _Stupefy_.”

Narcissa collapsed and Draco let out an anguished cry as Hermione pulled on his arm. He stumbled after her.

Draco could have cried with relief when they got to the final staircase and crashed into Sirius. “The rest of the DA is upstairs with the Order already. How close behind you are they?”

“We lost them in the room with the Doors,” Harry gasped out as he quickly hugged Sirius. “You’re really alright?”

Sirius nodded as he pulled back and looked into Harry’s face. “You’re bleeding,” he noted. 

Harry laughed shortly, “Glass exploded. Come on, we should keep going. Draco’s mum said that Voldemort is coming, I think”

“What?” Sirius asked before he gestured towards the others, who complied and instantly started running up the stairs, “Go, all of you.” Draco nodded and followed Hermione up.

Harry grabbed Sirius’ hand and the two of them ran together. Remus was waiting at the top of the stairs and slammed the door behind them, shooting a locking charm at it. 

Dumbledore was standing in the center of the lobby and gesturing. As he pointed, house elves appeared, grabbed onto the hands of DA members and vanished. Harry looked across the room and Dumbledore grinned as he met Harry’s eye. Different adults, likely members of the Order, were ushering students away from the stairway door where Harry, Draco, and Hermione had stopped.

Remus turned finally and placed a hand over Harry and Draco’s shoulders. “Boys, let’s go.” He sounded tired, and Draco glanced over to see Sirius wrap an arm over Harry’s shoulder. Hermione slipped her hand into Draco’s and smiled tiredly as Draco squeezed her fingers gently. 

Shouts rose up suddenly as a dark, hooded figure appeared silently in the middle of the room, blocking the path toward Dumbledore. Elves appeared and Draco watched as they grabbed onto Ron, Fred, and George, the last three members of the DA on that side of the atrium. 

“Get them out of here!” Dumbledore’s voice carried across the room as spells started shooting around the room. 

Sirius disapparated with Harry instantly, and Remus stepped in front of Draco to grab onto Hermione’s hand before disapparating with both of them. 

Draco and Hermione both gasped as they appeared in the dark garden outside of Remus and Sirius’ house. “Inside,” Remus barked, pushing at their backs. He waved his wand at the house and Draco shuddered as it started vanishing around them. The roof and outer corners of the walls vanished instantly and the invisibility started creeping slowly toward the door as they rushed toward it.

Hermione and Draco jumped through the door just as the invisibility began to overtake it. 

“Remus?” Harry asked breathlessly as he wrapped both Hermione and Draco in his arms.

“He’s casting protection spells,” Hermione explained as she squeezed Harry and Draco’s backs. “Sirius, was that Voldemort?”

Sirius nodded shortly, not looking up from the small black card he was scribbling on. Draco had never tried writing more than a few phrases on his, but Sirius was apparently writing a small book.

Remus abruptly came through the door. He immediately wrapped his arms around the three of them where they still stood near the door. 

“We have to get them back to the school,” he said, looking over Hermione’s head at Sirius. 

He nodded, watched the text on his black card disappear and then a single word appeared. “Aberforth is waiting for us.” He rose and sighed. “Harry, I’m so sorry.” He held his arms out and Harry stepped into them. 

“I heard you screaming. I watched them torture you.” Harry said softly, his voice cracking. “You and Dobby, and then Dobby appeared and he was, he was…”

“I know. I saw him. He’ll be fine, by the way. Your DA friends who stayed behind explained everything.” He sighed into Harry’s hair and squeezed tighter. “The Death Eaters planned the whole thing. They attacked several different places around the country at the same time, so it drew all of us out. That way, none of us noticed your messages. I’m so sorry.”

Remus stepped forward and looked down at the small black card on the table. “Sirius, we have to go,” he said softly. “We can probably stay in the castle tonight, but we have to get them back to safety.”

Sirius nodded and brushed tears from his eyes as he released Harry. “Back in the garden then. Wands out, boys. Hermione, try not to do any magic until we get back on Hogwarts property.”

“But, I did magic in the Ministry,” Hermione protested. “Shouldn’t that have activated my Trace Charm?” 

Remus shook his head. “There’s so many layers of magic there that the Trace Charm doesn’t work properly."

"But I thought that apparating would activate the Trace Charm," Hermione observed.

"Apparating does," Sirius confirmed. "But side-along apparition isn't the same. If we do it too many times, they might pick up on it, but hopefully we only need one more and then we'll be safe in Hogwarts again. And that's why we want to hurry because we’d very much like to avoid having any concrete proof that you left Hogwarts property right now.”

“Why?” Harry asked. 

“Because,” Sirius said wryly, “Dumbledore is going to need to work pretty hard to prove that none of you were actually at the Ministry tonight, since you’re not allowed to leave Hogwarts property. Because we left a whole bunch of Death Eaters trapped in the Department of Mysteries, where they are not allowed to be. And if Dumbledore can keep them there until the Aurors show up to arrest them, then the lot of them will be arrested and Voldemort will lose a lot of his primary supporters in one night.”

“My parents were down there,” Draco said softly as they stepped out of the kitchen and into the garden again. It was eerie not being able to see the house they had just stepped out of.

Sirius winced. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Remus reached out his hands for Hermione and Draco again. “We’re going to Hogsmeade, by the way. We’ll have to sneak into Hogwarts through the Shrieking Shack. If, for whatever reason, we get separated, we need the three of you to get there no matter what, alright?”

“No, we’re not--” Harry started to protest, but Sirius held his hand up. 

“Harry, please. Our priority is keeping you safe. We’re going to do everything we can to stay with you, but if we need to stop to fight any Death Eaters, we need to be sure that you’ll be safe. Please, promise me that you’ll do everything you can to get back into Hogwarts tonight.”

Harry frowned but nodded. 

“We promise,” Hermione said softly. 

Sirius nodded and wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders again. He and Remus disapparated at the same time. They all glanced around, but were apparently in a covered yard behind a dark building. 

“Come on,” Sirius whispered. “Stay close.”

Remus grimaced at Draco. “Don’t you have a hat? Your hair practically glows in the moonlight.”

Draco winced and snorted, looking at Hermione, who clucked and pulled a hat out of her bag. “Why don’t you ever have your own?” 

He kissed her forehead as he pulled her hat on, “I like yours better.”

The walk through the silent streets was tense, and Draco had never been so happy to covertly enter an abandoned building before. Sirius entered through the hidden door into the underground tunnel and only lit his wand once Remus had closed the door behind them all. 

“This was easier to manage when we were younger,” Draco noted softly. 

Sirius snorted from ahead of them. “I was thinking the same thing.” 

They traveled through the tunnel quietly, and once Sirius deactivated the Whomping Willow, they hurried across the grounds to the castle’s front doors. They opened silently and Draco winced as he saw McGonagall and Snape standing near the entrance. 

Snape hissed at the sight of the five of them but grabbed Draco roughly and hugged him before smacking the back of his head. “All the students are accounted for now,” he said sharply to Remus, who nodded in return. 

“The guest suite you stayed in last time will be ready. All five of you, get there quickly before Umbridge notices you.” McGonagal spoke softly, but the steel still carried through her voice.

“Is Albus back yet?” Sirius asked softly. 

Snape grimaced at Sirius and shook his head. 

“We received a message from him a few minutes ago though,” McGonagall said. “He’s fine, as are the rest of the Order members. He should be back soon.”

Sirius nodded. “Guys, come on, it’s just down the hall.”

Harry was staring down at the Marauder's Map while they walked and he hissed, “Umbridge is camped outside the Gryffindor Common Room!”

Sirius nodded. “I assumed. That’s why Snape didn’t want you going back there tonight.”

Hermione was surprised when Remus opened a door she had never noticed before. “But, what is this place?” One side of the room was clearly a sitting room, while the other side of it was devoted to more of a dining area. There were several doors connecting to the main room. 

Remus closed the door behind Sirius and turned to face the three students. “Guest rooms. We stayed here after the Tournament too. The castle adapts to the needs of the guests, so I imagine there will be beds for each of you.”

“But… how?”

Sirius shrugged. “How does the Room of Requirement work? McGonnagal is Assistant Headmistress. If she tells the castle that there are guests, it adapts.”

“Is… Snape said everyone is back. So, Ron and Fred and the rest of them are all alright, right?” Harry spoke slowly. 

Sirius nodded. “They must have made it up to their Houses before Umbridge started camping there, or maybe the sound of so many students moving through the halls is what caught her attention.”

“Check with the map,” Draco said, gesturing to the piece of parchment that was hanging limply in Harry’s hands. “You can check on all of the DA members, right?”

Harry whipped it up and spread it out on the small table in front of the couch. As he stared at it, Hermione pulled the coin that they used to communicate with the DA and pressed a message into it. 

“I let them all know that we made it back safely,” she said as Harry looked up with a sigh.

“They’re all in their rooms,” he confirmed. 

“Alright,” Sirius said with a sigh as he clapped his hands together. “We can all have breakfast together, and you’ve all finished your finals, right?”

They nodded. “Do you think they’ll send us home on the train early, or will it still come on Saturday?”

“We’ll find out in the morning,” Remus answered, “but I don’t see why they’d make you go home early. There’s no threat here.”

As Remus spoke, Sirius started opening doors and glancing into rooms. “These three are for you,” he said, pointing at three of the doors, “and this one is the bathroom. Remus and I will be in this one at the end.”

They all nodded and Hermione made her way into her room. She came out a moment later. “My pajamas are here,” she said with surprise.

Remus chuckled. “I told you. The rooms accommodate the guests. Your toothbrushes are probably in the bathroom too.”

“They are,” Draco confirmed as he stepped out of the bathroom. 

It took a few minutes for everyone to take turns in the bathroom, but nearly fifteen minutes later Draco was laying down in the bed in the small room he had taken. The bed was large and comfortable, and he knew he was exhausted, having been woken in the middle of the night and then spent too long in a panicked state, but he still couldn’t fall asleep. 

After tossing and turning for a few minutes, he finally threw the covers off and went out into the sitting room. He wasn’t particularly surprised to see Harry sitting on the couch staring at the fireplace. 

Hermione stepped out of her room a moment later and sighed when she saw the two of them. “Come on,” she said with a sigh as she waved toward her door. 

“What?” Harry asked softly. 

“None of us are going to sleep tonight,” she said with a shrug. “I doubt any of us want to be alone right now.”

“You want all of us to cuddle?” Harry asked as he rose from the couch.

Draco snorted, “Stranger things have happened.”

They both followed Hermione into her room. She climbed onto the bed and pulled gently on Harry’s arm so he would lay next to her. 

“I get to be the little spoon?” Harry asked, smiling for the first time. 

“Would you rather be the middle spoon?” Draco asked. 

“Nah,” Harry said as he settled his glasses onto the bedside table. 

Draco pulled the blankets up over Harry and Hermione and slipped an arm over Hermione’s waist. “You know, Hermione, I never imagined that Harry would be in bed with us the first time we slept together.”

Hermione snorted and clapped a hand over her mouth as she giggled. 

Harry sighed, “I can leave, if you want…”

Draco laughed at Harry’s light tone and reached out to pat his arm. “Don’t. It’s almost five. If we aren’t going to sleep, we might as well just rest. We can see the rest of the DA at breakfast at seven.”

Hermione sighed. “I can’t believe any of what happened tonight,” she said softly. 

Harry and Draco both sighed, and even though none of them thought they’d fall asleep at all, they had all fallen asleep within minutes. 

A few hours later, Sirius chuckled when he found them. Remus had gone to the Dining Hall and checked in with the members of the DA and had brought the Weasleys back to their room. Fred took one look at the three of them and climbed in behind Harry while George, Ginny, and Ron had curled up on the couches in the sitting area. 

It was almost lunchtime when everyone woke up again. 

“What’s… where…?” Harry muttered as he woke. 

“Shhh,” Fred murmured into the back of Harry's neck, “we’re having the oddest sleepover in a room I didn’t know existed until this morning.”

Draco’s head came up abruptly and he peered over Hermione and Harry at Fred’s ginger head. “We fell asleep? And woke up with a Weasley?”

“Hmmm,” Fred responded, his eyes still closed. “You fell asleep with my boyfriend, and you all were dead to the world when we came to find you since you didn’t show up at breakfast, so I climbed in with you.”

George appeared in the doorway, rubbing his eye sleepily. “Sirius said that Dumbledore is ready to talk to you, if you want to get up anytime soon.”

Harry sat up abruptly, which caused Hermione to groan and squint her eyes closed. “Yea,” Harry said. “I want to do that. Sirius is still here?”

Sirius stepped in behind George, “The train isn’t leaving until Saturday, by the way, so you kids have a few days still. Remus and I are going to leave in a couple hours though.”

Harry climbed over Fred and grabbed his glasses as he headed for the door. George patted him on the shoulder as he moved toward the bed and jumped into Harry’s empty spot. Hermione rolled over and pressed her face into Draco’s chest and he laughed softly at George, who rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes, seemingly planning on going to sleep.

*

Days later, as Draco was about to step onto the train, Snape appeared out of the crowd and pressed a piece of parchment into his hand before swirling away again. 

Draco looked over at Hermione in shock before he quickly opened the note and stared at it, his fingers trembling. Hermione leaned over to read it with him.

 _“Do whatever you need to, but don’t go home. I’m sorry but I can’t be involved_.”

Draco and Hermione both jumped when Hagrid spoke a few steps away from them, “Alright folks! Everyone on the train!”

Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him on. “Harry went to get us seats. He’ll help us figure something out.”

When they finally found Harry, Draco was relieved to see Ron and the twins with him. Hermione pushed him inside and then pointed her wand at the door, _“Colloportus_.”

“Hermione?” Harry asked, sitting up and leaning away from Fred, whose arm fell from his shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

Draco handed Harry the parchment. “Snape just handed this to me and then vanished into the crowd.” He collapsed onto the bench next to Ron. “I thought… I thought I’d be able to go home at least… and see my parents. I didn’t… I don’t even know if they’re okay! But…” He looked up at Harry. “If Snape told me not to go home, then Voldemort must want me. Harry, what if he punished my parents because of me?”

Hermione clutched both of Draco’s hands. “At least we have time to come up with a plan.” He looked at her for a second before squeezing his eyes shut and nodding. She spoke softly as she gazed into his eyes. “Your mother helped us escape. They’re… they’re definitely Death Eaters… but they’re not…” 

“Draco, you’re right,” Harry said, leaning forward so he could reach across and squeeze Draco’s knee. “Your parents clearly have… some good in them. Maybe they’re just caught up in everything and don’t know how to get out. I’ll talk to Sirius to see if there’s anything we can do to help them.”

The next few hours were spent vacillating between tense plans and silly distractions, mostly from new products the twins were planning to sell in the joke shop they were going to try to open in the next few weeks. 

“I still can’t believe you aren’t planning on coming back next year,” Harry said softly to Fred as he leaned to press his nose into Fred’s neck.

“While there would definitely be benefits to going back,” Fred answered just as softly, tightening his arm around Harry’s shoulder, “we don’t need any NEWTs to open up our own business, and once we get a flat set up, we can start helping out the Order.”

“Do you have a location yet?” Draco asked, looking up from the book he was reading to try to distract himself.

“We’ve been talking with someone who’s looking to let a storefront on Diagon Alley,” George answered with a grin. “There’s a two bedroom flat above so our commute would be quite manageable.”

Draco nodded, impressed and returned to his book. 

Hours later, Draco stepped off the train and nearly gasped with the surety that his parents weren’t there. He could always spot them instantly, and right now, they weren’t there. He refused to dwell on what terrible thing might be preventing them from being there, but then he spotted Sirius in the crowd and he dove for him, pulling Hermione along behind him.

“Sirius,” he gasped, rushing up to him. “You have to take me. Adopt me. Hide me. Something.”

Sirius blinked and glanced between Hermione and Draco. “What? Why?”

“My parents… I can’t go home. Not after what happened at the Ministry. I don’t even know if they’re alive right now or anything, but if I go home, the Dark Lord will definitely punish me and maybe make me take the Dark Mark, and I can’t go there, Sirius, you have to help me. Snape passed me a note. I’ll show it to you, but first, we have to leave. Please?”

Sirius wrapped his arm around Draco’s shoulder, “Shhhh, it’s fine, we’ll be alright. Don’t worry. Where’s Harry?” Draco gestured toward the train. Harry had been helping the twins get all of their things. “And your parents aren’t here?” Draco shook his head. “Remus, get Harry and meet us at home, alright? Hermione, will you be ok?”

Hermione nodded as she squeezed Draco’s hand. She gripped the back of his neck and pulled him down for a quick kiss before turning to look back at the train. “I’ll make sure everyone else gets out alright, and then I’ll write to you once I’m back at the Burrow.” Draco squeezed her hand and nodded before looking back to Sirius. 

Remus nodded and Sirius looked down at Draco, “You’re ready for side-along apparition?” When Draco nodded, Sirius twirled and the pair disappeared. 

They appeared in the front garden of the house Sirius and Remus shared, and Sirius quickly pushed Draco into the house. “Alright, we have to write Dumbledore so I don’t get arrested for kidnapping,” Sirius said quickly. “Go put your things in Harry’s room. We’ll figure something out with your sleeping arrangement if it’s going to be long-term. We never did get around to enlarging the bedroom after Christmas.”

Draco walked slowly to Harry’s room and dropped his things on the bed he had slept on at Christmas. He stared around the room for a moment before he turned around and dropped onto the bed. 

Draco heard Remus and Harry enter the kitchen a few minutes later. 

“Draco?” Harry called as he hurried toward his room. Draco jumped up and they grasped each other’s arms and stared at each other wide-eyed for a minute. “You’re here. You’re safe. We’ll figure this out.” 

“Harry, I… fuck, I panicked and I know we had a plan, but my parents weren’t there…”

“They just showed up as we were leaving,” Harry explained. “Apparently they were detained entering the platform.”

“Dumbledore?” Draco’s eyes somehow widened even further. 

Harry shrugged. “Let’s owl Ron and Hermione. And see if Sirius got any word from Dumbledore yet.”

Sirius looked up as the pair walked into the kitchen. Remus had his nose in a book and two more propped open in his lap. “We’re looking up some old and obscure laws relating to maintaining pureblood lines,” he explained. “Also, Draco, I got approval for temporary custody of you. The good news is that both your parents are alive and well. The bad news, for them at least, is that they were both held under suspicion of breaking and entering into the Department of Mysteries. Which, of course, they did. I’m sure they’ll get off, but since they're both currently being investigated by aurors, I was able to claim that it was unsafe in their house.”

“Well, that’s the truth,” Harry said. 

“Yea, but right now we’re not looking for the truth,” Remus said without looking up. “We’re looking for technicalities and loopholes. We can’t just accuse Draco’s parents of being Death Eaters and harboring Voldemort. That wouldn’t hold up in court. Not now. We’ve got to be more subtle than that.”

*pop*

“Hermione Granger had an idea!” Dobby squealed. “Oh hello, Masters Draco and Harry!” Dobby clapped and rushed to hug first Draco, then Harry, and then Draco again.

“Dobby?” Remus asked, catching the excited elf’s attention. “What’s the idea?”

Dobby pointed at Sirius. “You need a Black heir. Hermione Granger said that you’ve been trying to find ways to ensure that Harry can inherit the Black family fortune, but how there are clauses that only a pureblood can inherit. So… name Draco your heir. Then you can adopt him and he will be safe.”

Sirius and Draco blanched. “But then Harry…”

Harry waved at both of them. “Don’t even finish that sentence. You know I’ve got plenty of money from my father’s family. I don’t need your money, Sirius. If this keeps Draco safe, then we have to do it.”

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances before they both grabbed parchments and began writing. 

Harry and Draco exchanged looks and hesitant smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also getting harder b/c it's traveling SO FAR from canon lol but I'm enjoying this SO MUCH and I hope you all are too ❤❤


	12. Summer between Years 5 and 6

“Good morning,” Remus said as Draco walked into the kitchen. “Sirius went to get Harry and should be back in… about half an hour. How do you feel about walking to the grocery store to pick up a few things with me after you eat?”

Draco blinked a few times as his brain processed. “Yea, that sounds good. Is it a muggle grocery store?”

Remus nodded as he took a sip of his tea. “It’s just up the block too, so it won’t take us long.”

Draco nodded as he moved toward the stove. “What… uh… what did you eat for breakfast?”

Remus grinned faintly and waved his wand at a covered pan. The lid floated up and Draco grinned when he saw the eggs and sausages beneath, magically heated so they’d remain fresh. “Do you know how to cook?” 

Draco shook his head as he pulled a plate out of the cabinet and began scooping food onto it. “But if you or Sirius would teach me, I’ll happily help out around the house. I… I want to carry my own weight.”

Remus nodded. “We appreciate that. Neither of us are as good as Molly at cooking, but we can definitely teach you what we know.”

“What about those Muggle cooking shows that Harry likes to watch?” 

“We could try some of those too,” Remus chuckled. “Now eat up.”

Draco nodded and ate his food quickly before cleaning out his dish and rushing to get dressed. After just a few minutes he stepped out of the bedroom. “Um… Remus? You said we’re going to a muggle grocery store. Is this… is this outfit muggle enough?”

Remus scanned Draco’s clothes and nodded. “Is that one of Harry’s shirts?”

Draco chuckled. “Yea. He left a couple here, and I figured it was probably better than most of what I have.”

“Come on,” Remus said as he turned and walked toward the door. “You have your wand, right?” Draco nodded as he followed Remus out the door. “We shouldn’t use any magic, obviously, but it’s always important to be prepared. We could also take you clothing shopping, if you want, for some muggle clothes for the summer.”

“That’d be… nice,” Draco acknowledged. “Do you have… enough muggle money for all of this?”

Remus smiled faintly as they walked down the sidewalk. “We’ve got plenty. We changed a bunch over just last week, in preparation for having Harry home for the summer.”

“Oh, so you don’t… normally shop at muggle stores?”

“We do, honestly, most of the time but we took out extra,” Remus responded. “Look, we’re here already. It’s just so convenient that it almost seems foolish to go to a store that’s further away. Good morning Gladys,” he waved at an old woman sitting at a register.

“Good morning, Remmy! Is this one of Barry’s young friends?” 

“This is Steve’s nephew,” Remus nodded with a grin. “He’s going to be spending the summer with us.”

“Oh that’s so lovely,” Gladys said with a dreamy grin. “Let me guess, young man, your parents have decided to spend the summer in Mallorca and you just can’t bear to be away from our beautiful English countryside, is that it?”

“Yes, something like that,” Draco answered softly, trying not to look as bewildered as he felt. 

She reached out and patted Draco’s arm. “Well, don’t let me keep you boys from your groceries. I’ll be waiting here for you when you’re ready.”

“See you in a bit, Gladys,” Remus said with a small wave. Once they had moved far enough away, Remus spoke under his breath, “Gladys is a good sort. She’s the neighborhood gossip though, so we’ve got to think of a name for you before we get back to the register. How do you feel about Dan? You could be a Danny.”

“Uh… sure,” Draco responded as he continually looked around the store. There was a woman with two small kids further into the produce section and an old man standing near the bakery. “Remus… why do we need fake names here?”

Remus sighed as he picked up some apples and added them to his basket. “Our names would sound… bizarre to them. And, well, Harry’s name is the only one they’d accept as normal, but we still wanted to change it anyway. Just to be on the safe side. We try to blend in as much as possible here so that they’ll feel like we’re part of the community.”

“So they won’t get suspicious?”

Remus nodded. “Remmy and Steve are the somewhat eccentric couple that moved into the house at the end of our block. Their god-son Barry comes to visit when he isn’t away at school. Now, their nephew Danny will live with them too.” He chuckled, “Steve is a novelist, by the way, that’s how he supports us. And Remmy is a painter.”

“You paint?” Draco asked with surprise.

“I dabble,” Remus said with a shrug. “But that explains why we don’t worry and why we’re so… odd. We’re artists.”

Draco laughed softly as he continued to trail behind Remus as he moved through the store and continued adding things to their basket.

*

_ Draco,  _

_ Dobby said he’s feeling well enough to bring me to visit. I feel bad asking him, but I miss you (and Harry) already. _

_ My parents are both working tomorrow, and they said they don’t mind, as long as I’m home before dinner. Can you ask Sirius and Remus if they mind? _

_ Hermione _

*

_ Hermione,  _

_ Of course they don’t mind! I can’t wait to see you.  _

_ Remus said that they’d love to have your parents over for dinner sometime too. What day would be good for you? We can figure it out when you’re here tomorrow, if that’s easier. _

_ Draco _

_ * _

_ Draco,  _

_ I’ll see you tomorrow morning then. I’m so excited! My parents said they’re available all weekend, but they could probably manage a weekday if that works best for Sirius & Remus (although I know they don’t have all that much going on now that they’re putting a hold on Order missions for the moment).  _

_ I have so many questions for you, but I’ll save them all for tomorrow! _

_ Hermione _

_ * _

Draco rushed to glance in the mirror again and Harry laughed. 

“Your hair looks perfect,” he said from his spot on the couch. “And don’t even touch your shirt. Everything about you looks perfect.”

“Are you sure this outfit is alright? Isn’t it too… casual?”

“No, it’s perfect,” Harry said, leaning back so he could watch Draco fret in the mirror. “We’re in the middle of a heatwave. If you were wearing your normal formal stuff, you’d look out of place. I promise, they’ll be wearing similar clothing. Hermione and her mom might even be wearing sundresses. Just, trust me. Calm down.”

Draco groaned as he dropped onto the couch next to Harry. “But they’re supposed to be here any minute. Honestly, what is traffic? Why does it make things so unpredictable? Why couldn’t they just let Dobby bring them?”

Sirius laughed from the kitchen doorway. “Hermione’s parents are hesitant about apparating, as are most muggles, I think. They wanted to drive together in their own car.”

“It’s only about an hour,” Harry pointed out. “They just live on the other side of London from us here.”

Draco groaned and dropped his head into his hands, before jumping up in a panic to fix his hair again. Harry laughed and threw a pillow at Draco’s back. “Hey!” Draco shouted and threw the pillow back at Harry, who jumped off the couch and threw another at Draco.

A few minutes later, Sirius opened the door to greet Hermione’s family and Remus stepped into the living room. He took one look at Harry, who was standing on the back of the couch with a pillow raised above Draco, who looked like he was preparing to tackle Harry and laughed loudly. Remus pulled out his wand and wordlessly waved it at the room, righting both pillows and the boys’ appearances. 

By the time Hermione and her parents followed Sirius into the sitting room, they couldn’t tell that there had been a vigorous pillow fight there only moments earlier. Draco shot Harry a grateful grin before stepping forward and extending his hand to greet Hermione’s parents. 

Hermione’s father shook his hand with a grin, but her mother pulled him in for a hug. 

“Draco, we’ve heard so much about you over the years,” she gushed as she squeezed him a second time. “And Hermione has pointed you out on Platform 9 ¾, obviously, but we’re just so excited about meeting you.”

He knew he was blushing as he pulled back and stammered, “I’m… I’m glad too. 

*

“Harry? Draco?” Sirius called from the kitchen. “I brought a couple Order members for you to meet.”

Harry and Draco exchanged smiles from across the couch before jumping over it and racing into the kitchen. Harry won, but only by a second.

Sirius was standing near the door with his arm over the shoulder around a purple-haired young woman. “Draco, this is our cousin, Tonks. She’s Andromeda’s daughter.”

Draco stood with a shy grin and stepped forward, but was taken by surprise as Tonks rushed forward and embraced Draco, who stood stiff in her arms for a brief moment before hesitantly wrapping his arms around her back. 

“Mom wants to meet you so much,” Tonks said as she pulled back and held Draco by the shoulders as she studied his face. “But we can do that later in the summer, right? There’s no rush.”

“She… she wants to meet me?” Draco asked. 

“Of course!” Tonks replied with a wide grin. “She’s wanted to meet you since you were born! But obviously our moms don’t talk much, so she couldn’t.”

“And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, he’s an Auror, and Harry, you remember Miriam Cadwallader?”

“Yea,” Harry said with a grin, “You helped us get rid of my Trace Charm.”

She winked at him across the kitchen table, but Shacklebolt turned to Sirius, “I thought… I thought you said that Harry lived with his muggle relatives?”

“He does,” Sirius answered simply. “He just spends the night here sometimes.”

“Plus, it seemed unfair to send him back there when he knew that we were going to be meeting here tonight,” Remus pointed out.

“If Draco got to meet real Order members before me, I would’ve been mad,” Harry said with a shrug and a grin.

“Well, I am older,” Draco pointed out smugly.

Harry laughed and shoved at Draco’s shoulder, which made them both giggle as Draco shoved back. “Yea, but by like two months,” Harry laughed out eventually. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Draco said as he continued laughing, “I’m already sixteen and you’re still only fifteen.”

Cadwallader and Shacklebolt exchanged glances and she shrugged.

Tonks was watching them with an awed expression. “You weren’t exaggerating,” she said as she turned to look at Sirius. 

He smiled faintly, and snorted. “I told you they were like brothers. I wouldn’t have lied about something like that.”

“We didn’t… realize the depth of what you meant, I suppose,” Shacklebolt said. “They could be the mirror image of you and James… except for Malfoy’s coloring, that is.”

Harry elbowed Draco one last time and faced the adults again. “What? What do you mean?”

Sirius sighed and Remus looped an arm over his shoulders before addressing Harry and Draco. “The Blacks were very… particular about who they befriended. James didn’t fit the… typical description, even though he was a pureblood. But regardless, your dad and Sirius bonded instantly on the train and were inseparable from that moment on.” 

“It surprised a lot of families,” Shacklebolt added quietly. 

Sirius smiled sadly. Harry quickly stepped away from Draco and embraced Sirius. Draco hesitated for a few seconds before he followed and wrapped his arms around both Harry and Sirius.

*

“Why… why are we here?” Draco asked as they stood on the front steps of the dark, gloomy townhouse on Grimmauld Place. 

“Because I couldn’t burn it to the ground,” Sirius responded with a chipper energy. “I tried. Several different spells. My demon mother made it so that I’d never be able to rid myself of this hellhole. Now, her portrait will likely scream at us as we go in, so Harry and Remus, I want you to hurry into the kitchen. Draco,” Sirius’ grin took on a manic shade, “I’m going to introduce you as my heir. Let’s see how she likes that.”

Draco swallowed audibly and nodded.

The first few minutes were overwhelmingly loud, as the portrait of Sirius’ mother screamed about mudbloods disgracing her house. Draco thought about correcting her, as both Remus and Harry were half-bloods, but shrugged it off since she wouldn’t hear his arguments over her screaming. 

Sirius seemed to have no compunction about screaming back at his mother though, and after a minute or so of pointlessly shouting back and forth, he pushed Draco toward the portrait. “Look! I’ve got an heir!”

Sirius’ mother fell silent instantly. “You’ve what? Just procured him from the street? You think that--”

“I’m a pureblood,” Draco said quickly. “And a Black.” 

Sirius’ mother blinked several times at Draco before turning to Sirius. “How?”

“He’s Narcissa’s son. Remember how she and Lucius were too involved with Voldemort? Well, they got themselves arrested.”

She gasped. “Publicly?”

“That’s usually how it works,” Sirius commented wryly. 

“And you’ve adopted…” she squinted in thought, “Draco, isn’t it?”

“The paperwork is being processed, but we have temporary custody, and I’ve declared him as my official heir.”

The woman turned her squint toward Sirius. “You seem entirely too satisfied with yourself, which tells me that there’s something about this whole business that you’re keeping from me, and which would upset me.” She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “However, I know you swore to never have children of your own, so I understand that this is the best I’m likely to get. The Black line must continue,” she turned her attention to Draco again, and her expression was somehow… hungry, “so for now, I will be satisfied with him.”

Draco tried to grin, although he was sure the expression was closer to a grimace. 

“Well, good. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go cavort with with my half-blood, werewolf lover,” Sirius said cheerfully, which elicited a shriek from his mother. 

Draco was chuckling as they entered the kitchen. 

Sirius gave Draco a side hug before moving deeper into the kitchen. “Mother absolutely adores Draco,” he said with a wide grin before kissing Remus on the cheek. 

Remus raised an eyebrow at Draco who shrugged. “She said she was satisfied with me.”

“Wow,” Remus said. “That is high praise from her.”

“Let’s eat,” Sirius said, “and then we can survey the rooms upstairs. I think we can get some cleaning done, but I want to at least get an idea of how much trash is stashed away.”

“Can’t you… sell it?” Draco asked, “Since you hate it so much?”

“Not without your mother claiming it,” Sirius answered with a sigh. “And being as I just legally kidnapped her only child, I think it’s not the best idea to offer up the house to her.” He glanced at Draco, “Also, it’ll be yours someday. So I figured you could help us clean it up… you can look at it as investing in your future property.”

Harry laughed into his teacup as he turned the page in the book he had been reading. 

*

Draco, Harry, and Hermione looked up from the tv at Sirius standing in the kitchen doorway. The three of them were a tangle of limbs on the couch. When the movie started, Harry and Hermione had positioned themselves on each side of Draco, but after a while they had all kind of slumped to the side, with Hermione leaning against Draco, and Draco leaning against Harry.

“What’s up?” Harry asked, sitting up slightly at Sirius’ look of concern, and grunting under Draco’s weight. 

“Would you… would you three come into the kitchen? Remus and I want to talk about something important.”

“Of course,” Harry responded as Draco stood up abruptly. 

“Is it…?”

Sirius held out a hand. “No, don’t worry. It’s got nothing to do with your family.”

Draco sighed and Hermione slipped her hand into his as the three of them followed Sirius into the kitchen. Remus was sitting at the table clutching a mug of tea with white knuckles. 

Sirius walked over and sat next to Remus. He waved his wand and brought tea over for the rest of them before sighing and looking between Draco and Harry. “We’ve been trying to figure out the best way to tell you,” Sirius explained. “And we finally came to the conclusion that there’s no… gentle way of getting around it. And we’re running out of time, as it is, so I’m just going to rip the bandage off.” He glanced at Remus and placed a hand over his on the mug. Remus had barely looked at any of them once Sirius started talking, and he continued to stare resolutely down at the mug. “Harry, we would’ve told you earlier… but… it never seemed like the right time, and you never stayed over during the full moon, so it wasn’t ever a pressing issue, but now… now we’ve got to discuss it because you’re living here with us Draco…”

“Sirius,” Hermione asked softly, “what are you saying?”

“I’m a werewolf,” Remus whispered, his eyes squeezing shut as he finished speaking. 

There was silence around the table for a second before Sirius began talking quickly, “Snape makes a potion for Remus to take, so he’s perfectly safe during the full moons. He’s basically just a large dog. It’s like when I change into my animagus form. He isn’t dangerous at all, I promise.”

“We didn’t want to lie to you. I’m so sorry,” Remus said softly. “That’s part of why we were cleaning up Sirius’ parents’ place in Grimmauld Place, so I can spend the night there, if you don’t feel safe here with me.”

“A werewolf?” Hermione finally managed to ask. “But… I don’t understand--”

“What’s that mean, though?” Harry asked. “And what does the potion do? Why’s it a big deal then?”

Draco stared at his tea while Harry and Hermione continued to ask questions. He had always been taught that all werewolves were savage monsters, and after meeting Fenrir Greyback a couple times, he had been willing to believe that.

But Remus had lived at Hogwarts for ten months. That was likely ten times he shifted into his werewolf form, and with the help of the potion, remained completely safe. If Dumbledore thought it was safe for Remus to be in the castle with all of the students, then how could he disagree, really? 

Remus watched Draco while Sirius fielded Harry and Hermione’s questions. 

“Draco?” Remus asked softly after a few minutes, reaching a hand hesitantly across the table toward him.

“Since when?” Draco finally looked up at Remus, and the other three fell silent. 

“Since I was a child,” Remus answered. 

Draco squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled slowly through his nose. He rose from his chair and walked around Harry so he was standing before Remus, who looked up at him anxiously. Draco opened his arms and smiled faintly. 

Remus rose and embraced Draco, who returned the hug tightly. “I’ve already realized that basically everything my parents taught me was blinded by their sense of superiority.” Draco spoke softly into the man’s sandy hair. “If I can accept that Hermione is as good as, or even better than me, then I can also accept that they were wrong about werewolves.” 

Remus let out a small sound that could have been a sob or a laugh, and pulled back slightly so he could look at Draco. “Do you want me to leave, though? I know it’s a lot to ask you to accept… my transformation, but I can still--”

“No, of course not,” Draco interrupted. “This is your home. You’ve both saved me by taking me in. I’d never ask you to leave your own home.” He glanced between Remus and Sirius. “Thank you for telling us.”

Harry stood up and wrapped his arms around Draco and Remus. “Thank you, Remus. You know we all love you, right? Nothing is going to change that.”

“Thank you for saying that, Harry,” Remus said softly as he shifted so he could wrap an arm around Harry’s back. “But… you haven’t seen how the rest of society treats me. My kind are looked down upon in basically every circle.”

“But the Weasleys all like you,” Harry protested, but Remus shook his head as he sighed and released Harry and Draco so he could return to his seat. Hermione reached out once he sat and squeezed his arm. 

“The Weasleys are unconventional, even within Wizarding Society,” Sirius explained. “And Dumbledore took a big risk hiring Remus. A lot of people would have been very upset with him if they had found out.”

“That was part of why I left,” Remus explained. “I was afraid if I stayed for more than one year, that someone would figure it out.” He let out a choked laugh. “I actually thought you lot had figured out, that night you came to me and asked about Wormtail. I thought you were going to ask about why I was always so sick the day after the full moons.”

“That’s why you were so nervous,” Hermione said. “When we said we wanted to ask you questions, you basically froze. I didn’t understand it then.”

He nodded and sighed before looking back at Draco. “I know you said you’d never ask me to leave, but I’m offering. I want you to think about it before you answer. I can stay at Grimmauld Place for the full moon and it won’t be a problem at all. I want you to feel safe and comfortable.”

“What do you normally do on full moons?” Draco asked.

“Severus drops the potion off about an hour before moonrise,” Remus explained. “I drink it as soon as he delivers it, and then when the moon rises I transform. The potion enables me to stay in my right mind, so… it’s me, just in a different form. We usually watch a movie until going to bed. And then in the morning, I’m myself again.”

“What happens if you don’t get the potion?” Harry asked in a hesitant voice.

Remus winced. “I become a monster. When I was growing up, my parents would lock me in the basement so I couldn’t hurt anyone else, and the only reason I was able to go to Hogwarts was because Albus planting the Whomping Willow to protect the access to the Shrieking Shack, and started the rumor about it being haunted so nobody would question the noises I made while I was there.”

“So that’s how you got all your scars?” Draco asked softly. When Remus stared at him in alarm for a moment, he gestured vaguely. “You said your parents locked you up so you wouldn’t hurt anyone else… does that mean you hurt yourself?”

“He isn’t himself without the potion,” Sirius answered. “So he isn’t aware of what he does.”

“Have you always been alone on the full moons?” Hermione asked. 

Remus smiled faintly as he glanced sideways at Sirius. “No, although I thought I would be.”

“The Marauders all became secret animagi during our fifth year so that we could safely spend the full moons with Remus,” Sirius answered. “Harry, your father was brilliant when he transformed into a stag.”

“You were all illegal animagi? On purpose?” Hermione asked, her voice rising. “I thought… I thought you just…” Her brow furrowed and Draco thought back to the year when they had thought that Sirius was trying to kill Harry. They hadn’t known he was an animagi until he jumped on Ron, and the Ministry definitely would have released that information if they knew.

Sirius held up his hands, “You know that I freely admit to being reckless and stupid when I was your age. I’m registered now, so don’t worry.”

“I helped see to that, almost as soon as we got his name cleared,” Remus added.

“Is that why you live in a muggle neighborhood?” Draco asked. 

Sirius and Remus both nodded. “I told you my mom is a muggle,” Remus explained. “My parents knew that I would struggle a lot in Wizarding society, so they made sure that I would know how to function within Muggle society too.”

“Plus, some Muggle things are just plain old better,” Sirius added with a chuckle. 

*

“Albus, please,” Remus said with a tired grin. “All of the Order members stay for dinner occasionally.”

“Well,” Dumbledore said with a chuckle, “I wouldn’t want to be the only one missing out. It just so happens that this evening I have free time, but we’re not going to talk about business, right?”

“Of course not!” Sirius responded with a grin.

Remus clapped his hands together. “Perfect. Give me five minutes and I’ll have everything all set.” He glanced at Harry and Draco, “Would you two mind setting the table?” They both rose and rushed to help.

Sirius gestured toward the living room, “Albus, can I show off some of my muggle music?”

Dumbledore smiled, “You know I love to see their technology.”

Remus waved his wand at the dinner that he and Draco had prepared, duplicating it so there was twice as much food. 

“What was that spell?” Harry asked. 

“Geminio,” Remus replied with a grin. “It’s a doubling charm. I wouldn’t normally use it for dinner, but since it’s about time to eat, I don’t want to take the time to prepare anything new.”

“I thought geminio was a curse, not a charm,” Draco said as he helped carry plates to the table. 

Remus nodded. “It can be. As a charm, cast a single time on objects, simply duplicates them.” He glanced at Harry, “You can’t duplicate money, animals, or people, by the way. It’s illegal. Also, duplicated items are usually of lower quality, so they’re likely to fall apart, rust, or degrade more quickly. So it isn’t a good long-term solution for furniture, clothing or things like that. But for food for a quick meal, it’s fine.” Draco opened his mouth to speak and Remus laughed, “But it can also be a curse if you cast it so it’s recurring. Some of the older pureblood families do it on items in their Gringotts vault, so if anyone who doesn’t share their blood touches an item, it duplicates endlessly.”

“That’s how I’ve heard it used,” Draco nodded. “I didn’t realize there was a… positive side to it.”

“It’s both a charm and a curse, depending on how it’s cast.”

“Look at my love,” Sirius said warmly as he and Dumbledore came back into the room. “You can take the teacher out of the school, but you can’t stop him from teaching.”

Remus smiled faintly and kissed Sirius as he stepped close. 

“You know the position is still yours if you want it,” Dumbledore said softly as he sat in the chair Remus gestured at.

“I already told you that I think I’m less of a risk by helping the Order,” Remus replied. At Harry and Draco’s confused looks, he explained, “I’m worried that if I take a more public role now, that I could be outed as a werewolf, and Draco, your parents could use that against us in court to try to get you back. We just need to wait until next summer when you come of age, and then they won’t be able to hold that against us.”

“Damn,” Harry said under his breath and Draco nodded. 

“Well, you are definitely a valuable member of the Order,” Dumbledore agreed. “And I haven’t given up hope on finding a good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year.”

“You could always have Harry do it,” Sirius offered with a small laugh.

Dumbledore turned his bright blue eyes on Harry, “Ah yes, I did hear quite extensively about your club. Professor Umbridge was quite unhappy that she could never prove that it existed. But, alas, this is work talk, and I would prefer to discuss happier matters, if you all don’t mind.”

“Of course,” Sirius responded, leaning back in his chair.

“Professor, is it… is it weird for you to hang out with us?” Harry asked. “I mean, we’re students now, but even Sirius and Remus were both your students too.”

Dumbledore chuckled. “Harry, I’ve been teaching at Hogwarts since 1927. At this point, most wizards and witches in Britain have been my students. It’s actually rarer for me to spend time with people who didn’t pass through Hogwarts while I’ve been there.”

“Oh,” Harry said with a wry grin. “That makes sense actually.”

*

“Harry!” Hermione said happily as she threw her arms around his shoulders. “I didn’t realize you’d be here for dinner tonight!”

Harry grinned as he returned the hug. “The Dursleys are entertaining important guests tonight, so they were very happy to have me stay over.”

Hermione’s parents turned from where they had been greeting Sirius and Remus, “They don’t mind?” Hermione’s mother, Chioma, asked. “I know that Hermione said they’re not… particularly loving.”

Sirius snorted and scowled. “They mind that I bring him back most nights.” At their alarmed looks, Sirius gestured for them to sit in the living room and explained. “They’re truly atrocious people, in every way, but Albus insists that Harry keep living there.”

“He said there’s nothing stronger than a family’s love,” Harry said as he sat on the couch and leaned back with a sardonic grin that softened as he looked across the room at Hermione, who was nestling into the couch next to Draco. “I sort of have trouble believing him… but seeing you guys,” he gestured at Hermione and her parents, “I can see what he was talking about.” Sirius reached out and squeezed Harry’s shoulder, and they exchanged fond looks before Harry turned back to Hermione’s parents, “But I’ve finally got a family of my own, even if we don’t actually share any blood.”

“Blood doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Chioma said. “When my parents immigrated here, they were alone. They had no one except each other. They made friends, through college and through work, and they’re the ones who were my aunts and uncles growing up. We have our family back in Nigeria, but we only see them every few years. The family we have here, the ones who are here for us on a daily basis, they don’t share any blood with us, but they’re just as valid and important.”

Jeremy leaned forward, “My father always used to say ‘Everyone has two families. The family you’re born into and the family you choose. For some lucky people, they’re the same family. But for the rest of us, we have to go out and find that second family.’”

*

“Hello?”

“Draco doesn’t know what phones are.” Harry said, the glee evident in his voice.

“What?” Hermione laughed. 

“He doesn’t know. Hold up. I’m going to put the phone next to his ear, just… talk to him, alright?”

Draco had been staring at Harry with unease and slight discomfort while he spoke into the plastic device and he tried not to wince as Harry placed it near his head, but then grasped at it as he heard Hermione’s voice, speaking as if she was right next to him. Harry nearly fell over because he was laughing so hard. 

“I don’t… I don’t understand,” Draco managed to say. “How?”

“Remember I told you about how the muggles have spent decades developing different technologies because they don’t have access to magic?”

“Yea, of course,” Draco nodded. “It’s like the TV.” He was silent for a moment as he thought. “Hermione, this is amazing. This is real, right? It’s not like, a recording? Like, with the TV?” 

“No, Draco, this is real. I’m really sitting in my kitchen. I was reading a book before Harry called.”

“And all muggles can do this?”

“Well, all muggles who have phones, which, honestly, I think just about every muggle home and business has at least one.”

“This is better than any form of communication we have,” Draco said softly. “Alright, the two-way mirrors might be better, since we can see each other, but they’re also so rare and expensive that most people don’t have access to them.”

“And they can only contact their pair,” Hermione pointed out. “I can call anyone who has a phone, as long as I know their unique number.”

“So you mean I can call you whenever I want?” Draco asked earnestly. “Harry knows your unique number, right? That’s how he called you?”

“Yea,” Hermione said, and Draco could hear her smile. “Yea, you can call me whenever you want.”

“And you can call me, too, right?” 

“Yea,” Hermione confirmed. “I keep forgetting how many muggle things Sirius and Remus have. I can’t believe I didn’t think to call you weeks ago.”

*

“Draco, we’re going to the Burrow for dinner, and you know what that means?”

“We’ll get to fly?” Draco’s eyes lit up as he realized Harry was standing in the kitchen doorway holding both their brooms.

Harry nodded as he tossed Draco’s broom to him. “I figured we could clean them before we go, just for fun.”

Draco nodded and sat across from Harry at the table, glad to go over his broom with the maintenance kit. “It makes complete sense that we can’t fly here, but I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to at the Weasley’s either. I didn’t really look around much when we disapparated out of there at Christmastime.”

“They’re kind of in the middle of nowhere,” Harry explained, “and apparently they’ve got whatever anti-muggle wards are standard. Remus said this house is just too close to all the muggle houses to really put them all up here.” While Harry spoke, Sirius wandered into the kitchen and sat at the end of the table with the Prophet. He watched them both for a moment before focusing on the paper.

“That makes sense,” Draco nodded. The two worked in silence for a few moments. “I know we won’t have enough to play a full quidditch game, but how many of them play? Could we have a pick-up game?”

“It’s usually Fred, George, Ron, Ginny and me playing, but I know that Bill is home and he plays too, but that puts us at seven, with you.” Harry stared at his broom for a moment. “Maybe we can see if Fleur will play too.”

“I can give you some pointers, then,” Draco said smugly. 

“What?” Harry laughed. “You’re going to give me flying tips?”

“Yes,” Draco said, pursing his lips to try to stop himself from grinning. “You see, I have years worth of experience on you, as well as an extensive knowledge of different strategies and techniques from around the world.” Harry had been increasingly laughing at him as he spoke, and Draco finally cracked and joined in on Harry’s laughter.

“See, there’s the git that swindled me into being friends with him,” Harry said fondly. “You were just always there being disarmingly helpful while also condescending.”

“I should put that on my CV for after I graduate,” Draco chuckled. “Disarmingly helpful and condescending.” Draco snorted as he looked back down at his broomstick. “Of course I was helpful. You and Ron were just so helpless most of the time. It wouldn’t be fair to let Hermione shoulder the entire burden of getting you two through Hogwarts alive.”

Harry turned his broom and jabbed at Draco’s ribs sharply, “You just wanted to have something to hold over us.”

Draco laughed as he pushed the broom away. “Of course that was part of it. But also, I couldn’t hold anything over your head if you were dead, so clearly I needed to step up my game.”

“Mmm,” Harry hummed, finally giving up on jabbing at Draco and returning to polishing his broom handle. “And you were just being selflessly helpful and trying to keep me alive when you kissed me third year?”

Sirius folded the newspaper down and looked over it at the two boys while Draco threw his polishing towel at Harry’s face and laughed. They both realized Sirius was studying them and Harry laughed again. “No, Sirius, it wasn’t actually like that. Draco…” Harry chuckled as he searched for the right words. “He helped me realize I’m bisexual.”

Draco snorted and dropped his face into his hands.

“By kissing you.”

“Yea,” Harry said as he poked at Draco’s elbow. “How’d Hermione react when you told her, by the way?”

Draco gasped as he dropped his hands and looked at Harry in horror. “I never told her. I can’t believe I forgot to tell her! Merlin!”

“You are so red!” Harry laughed and pushed at Draco’s shoulder, which prompted Draco to shove back. 

Sirius picked up his mug of tea and stepped away from the table just as Remus came into the room. “Ah to be young again,” Sirius said dramatically. “Sometimes I miss it, and sometimes, I very much do not.”

*

Draco looked up as Sirius dropped into the chair across from him and sighed deeply. Remus glanced between Sirius and Draco with furrowed brows.

“What’s up, Padfoot?” Remus asked softly. 

Sirius handed Remus a parchment and then leaned toward Draco. “Albus asked us to go on another mission,” he explained as Remus read. “It will likely take at least two days, although possibly more. He’s been trying to hold off over the summer so we can be here for you and Harry, but he said there’s a bit of a time-crunch with this issue.”

“Okay…” Draco said slowly.

“We don’t want to leave you alone,” Remus explained as he put the parchment down and leaned forward as well. He waved off Draco’s protest, “We know you’re capable of taking care of yourself for a couple days, particularly if Dobby visits. But it’s not just a question of whether you can feed yourself.”

“You’re afraid if I’m alone the Death Eaters will come for me.”

Sirius nodded. “Arthur and Molly invited you to their house.”

Draco bit his lip. “Could I stay with Harry instead? Or maybe Hermione? I’d be safe if the Death Eaters don’t know where to find me, right?” He smacked himself in the face. “No. I’m being a git. Of course I’ll stay with the Weasleys. I don’t want to be ungrateful. I’m sorry for making this harder for everyone.”

Remus reached out and squeezed Draco’s shoulder. “You don’t need to apologize. You should have seen Sirius the first time he stayed over at my house, or even James’ house. He wanted to embrace all of the muggle things my parents had, but it was all so foreign that he kept flinching.” Remus laughed suddenly as he glanced at Sirius. “Remember the first time you saw the tv?”

Sirius snorted, although a blush was creeping up his cheeks. “I nearly hexed it.” He laughed before placing a hand on top of Draco’s. “We know things are different from how you grew up, and Molly and Arthur understand that their house isn’t… what you’re used to. But they also know that, just like I did, you’re trying to adapt.”

“Hey, what if Harry went with you?” Remus suggested. “You know he loves getting out of his Aunt and Uncle’s house, and the Weasleys love having him over.”

Draco perked up. “And since Fred and George moved out, there will be room for us, right? So we’re not even actually inconveniencing them.”

“That’s right,” Sirius said. “I’ll apparate to Harry so he can pack some extra clothes to bring.”

*

“It’s kind of weird that you’ll be sleeping in my bed tonight… but I won’t,” Fred said softly to Harry. He was sitting on the couch behind Harry, who was resting on the floor behind Fred’s legs. Draco and Hermione were sitting on the couch next to Fred as they all watched Ron and George place wizarding chess, while Ginny narrated the game in a mock-announcers voice. 

Harry leaned his head back and rested it on Fred’s thigh so he could look up at him. “Your mum wouldn’t let us share a bed here,” he laughed gently. “Never in a million years.”

Draco laughed as he pulled Hermione close to him and pressed a kiss into her hair. “Maybe someday we’ll get to sleep in the same bed as each other… at the same time… without Harry or Fred in it.”

Hermione pressed her face into his chest and laughed. “Hopefully.” She glanced at Harry and Fred, who were also laughing. “No offense.”

“None taken, little genius,” Fred responded with a fond grin before he threaded his fingers through Harry’s messy hair. “Different Order folks have been coming by our flat and helping us add layers of protective spells, so I think it should be safe enough that they’ll let you visit us soon.”

“That’d be nice,” Harry said as he let his eyes fall shut while Fred continued to play with his hair. 

A few minutes later, Molly rushed into the sitting room and looked around at everyone with a tired smile. “It’s so nice to have you all here, but dinner’s ready, so go wash up! Harry, did Sirius ask you about having your birthday party here? We’d love to host it, and we can set up in the garden so we can fit everyone.”

“Oh,” Harry said softly as he stood. “I… I don’t need a party.”

“Nonsense,” Molly said with a wave. “You’re one of the few kids who actually has a summer birthday. Let us do something special! Several of the Order members said they’d come. What do you say?”

“Well, alright,” Harry said with a crooked grin. “That would be kind of nice.”

“Perfect, that’s settled then,” Molly said as she pulled Harry into a quick hug and then turned and rushed out of the room. 

Fred pressed a kiss to Harry’s cheek, “You know Mum wants to spoil you whenever she gets the chance.”

*

Hermione clutched at her stomach and laughed as Draco and George finally caught up with Ginny and wrapped their arms around her, dragging her toward the ground. Their three broomsticks tapped together as they wrestled for the ball that Ginny was clutching tightly in her arms. They didn’t have enough people to play quidditch now, so they were playing some simplified version. Hermione didn’t really understand if there were even any set rules, but it seemed to resemble air-rugby. Except she wasn’t even entirely sure if they had teams, or who was helping who out. It mostly seemed like chaos. 

“Ginny!” Harry shouted with a laugh, “I’m coming!”

They all turned as they heard a small series of pops around the other side of the garden and Tonks’ loud voice greeting Molly. 

“Oh let’s go say hi,” Hermione said between laughs, wiping at the tears that were standing out in her eyelashes. 

Draco released Ginny and George and sailed down toward her, his wide grin matching her own. When he was only a few feet above her, his eyes shifted over her shoulder at Tonks’ voice again.

He dropped from the air suddenly, landing roughly on his feet and his broom falling from lax hands. 

“Oi! Draco!” Tonks shouted happily. “There you are! I’ve brought my parents!”

Draco stared blankly over Tonks’ shoulder as she stepped forward and embraced him, and she didn’t seem to notice until she pulled back. “Draco?”

He blinked several times before brushing roughly at his eyes with the back of his hand. 

Tonks’ mother stepped forward slowly, an understanding smile on her face. “I know I look just like my sister,” she said softly as she held out her arms. 

Draco let out a small sob and rushed forward, wrapping his arms around her back and burying his face in her hair. She patted at his back several times while speaking softly into his ear. After a few moments, he pulled back slightly and looked down into her face. She reached up and wiped the tears from his cheeks gently. 

“She talks about you, you know,” he said quietly. “She used to tell me stories, when I was little, about the adventures of Meda, Bella, and Cissa.”

“Oh,” she responded, just as quietly before laughing softly. “Nobody calls me Meda anymore. I’m mostly Dromeda these days.”

“Can I call you Aunt Meda, or is Dromeda better?” 

She cupped the side of his cheek, “You can call me whatever you’d like, sweetheart. Aunt Meda would be perfect.”

He nodded and bit his lip before leaning into her hand. “You do look just like her.”

She sighed and glanced to her side, “Draco, this is my husband, Ted.”

“It’s so good to meet you,” Draco said as he reached out and shook Ted’s hand. “Both of you. Thanks for coming. Oh!” He glanced over his shoulder at Harry. “I’m sorry for hogging attention, Harry. It’s your birthday!”

Harry shrugged and grinned. “You know I hate the attention. You enjoy it for a while.”

Ted held his hand out toward Harry, “Happy birthday. It is nice to meet you too, of course.”

Harry returned the handshake. “You too. Tonks talks about you all the time.”

Dromeda released Draco and pulled Harry in for a hug too. He stumbled for a second before wrapping his arms around her back. “Happy birthday, god-son of my cousin,” she said softly.

Harry blinked a few times as he pulled back to look down into her face. “Can I call you Aunt Meda too?” He asked with a shy grin. 

She laughed and patted his cheek briefly, “Yes, of course, you can.” She snorted as she saw Sirius come around the side of the house, “You know, I believe that our family is quite a bit bigger than either of us anticipated when we were younger.”

“Honestly, there’s more of us off the tapestry than there are on it,” Sirius said with a loud laugh, before glancing at Draco. “Well, you’re technically still on it, but my mother would definitely want to blast you off if she knew about Hermione. Luckily, the old bat is dead.”

Ted snorted and Dromeda grinned as she opened her arms for Hermione, who stepped into the hug as well. “Can I introduce you to my parents?” She asked, looking up at Dromeda and Ted. “They’re talking to Remus’ parents now in the living room.”

“We’d love to meet them,” Dromeda responded warmly as she turned to go into the house. 

Sirius slung his arms over Harry and Draco’s shoulders. “Harry, this is part of our gift to you, by the way. Today you’re surrounded by people who love you, but you’re not the focus the entire time.”

Harry laughed, “Best present I’ve ever gotten.”

After dinner, Harry opened his gifts from everyone, even though he repeatedly said that he didn’t need more presents. 

Once Harry finished, Arthur pulled out a large envelope and hesitated for a moment. “Draco, there’s something for you, actually, too.” He paused and held out an open envelope. “Please forgive me for opening it. An owl dropped it off this afternoon and we needed to be sure it was safe.” When Draco still didn’t move, Arthur placed it on the table in front of him and sat back in his chair. “It’s from your parents.”

Draco stared down at it for a moment before slowly picking it up with trembling fingers. Hermione leaned close and wrapped an arm over his shoulders, giving him an encouraging squeeze. As he slid the parchment out of the envelope, a heavy gold object dropped to the table, and tears welled up in his eyes as he saw his mother’s handwriting. 

_ My little dragon,  _

_ I miss you more than you can imagine. Your father and I are doing well. We’re under house arrest awaiting the trial, but I’m sure everything will be fine. We have a few guests now, so I’m sure that it’s much quieter with my cousin. It’s likely better this way.  _

_ I hope you’re enjoying your summer. I cannot believe that you’re 16 already and I’m missing it. I know we sent you a birthday gift last month, but I’m gifting you my father’s pocket watch early. I was saving it for next year, but now seems like the appropriate time to give it to you, just… in case. _

_ It would be best if you don’t write back.  _

_ I love you.  _

_ P.S. Thank Ms. Granger for me. She likely saved both your father and my lives with her actions.  _

Draco let out a soft sob as he finished the letter and buried his face in Hermione’s hair for a moment. She wrapped her other arm around him so she could hug him tighter. 

*

“Alright, now that we’ve got some music, we can get started,” Sirius said with a grin. “Harry, Draco, do you want to go through those two cabinets over there? Remember, don’t touch anything if it looks too suspicious or strange.”

“We know, we know,” Harry said. “If it looks Dark, don’t touch it, just have one of you come over to look at it. Believe me, I’d very much like to keep all of my fingers intact and curse-free.”

Draco laughed as he opened the doors to the china hutch and surveyed the stacked items inside. 

The fireplace near Remus flared green suddenly and he looked sharply at Sirius. “Are we expecting guests?”

Sirius nodded. “I told Molly we’d be here today, and offered to let Ron and Ginny spend the day.”

Remus nodded with a sigh. “A heads up would have been nice,” he said as Ron stepped through the fireplace. Harry rushed over to greet him.

“Didn’t I mention it at breakfast?”

Remus shook his head and pursed his lips. The fireplace flared again and Ginny stepped through, nearly bumping into her brother where he and Harry were standing in front of the fireplace.

“Ron! Move!” There was some laughing and jostling as they all moved away from the fireplace.

Sirius stepped up to Remus and wrapped his arms around Remus’ shoulders. “I’m sorry, Mooney. I’ll definitely make sure to tell you next time.”

Remus leaned forward and rested his head against Sirius’ for a moment before looking up to address the room. “So, who’s excited about a fun day of cleaning a semi-abandoned town-house that may or not be full of dark magical artifacts?”

“Oh! Me!” Ginny said with a laugh. “Anything is better than de-gnoming the garden again.”

“The house is too quiet now that Fred and George are gone,” Ron said dejectedly. “I love mom, and all, but she’s been making us clean the Burrow top to bottom at least once a week.”

“And she wants to spend time with us, like, all the time,” Ginny added on. “It was nice at first, but now, sometimes, I just want to… like, read a book or write a letter.”

“And she’s always there,” Ron finished with a nod. 

“You could come hang out with us sometimes,” Draco said as he rifled through a china hutch full of… miscellaneous things. He had so far seen a set of tea cups, serving utensils, copper pots, pocket watches, and a container that he thought was potpourri, but he wasn’t entirely sure. He glanced up when he realized that nobody had responded to him. “What?” They were all staring at him, so he glanced around several times before settling on Sirius. “Am I not allowed to invite them over?”

“No, you are,” Sirius said quickly. “It’s just that the house in East Horsley isn’t on the floo network, and it’s unplottable. We figured it’d be easier to meet up with the Weasleys here because they can at least floo in.”

“But… Hermione visits,” Draco protested, blinking several times. “Why is the house unplottable? How is the house unplottable?”

“Dumbledore made it unplottable,” Sirius explained, walking over to Draco slowly. “At the beginning of the summer. And you know we’ve had to take extra safety precautions since you moved in with us.”

“They’re for me?” Draco asked, glancing around again. “I thought they were for Harry.”

“Well, some of them are for him, since he spends most days with us, but the newer ones are for you.” Remus explained as he stepped next to Sirius. “We didn’t want your parents or any of the other Death Eaters to try to reclaim you.”

Draco blinked several times before turning back to look at the strange things collected in the cabinet. 

“Hermione figured out how to get to the house,” Sirius added softly. “We gave her a neighbor’s address and then she navigated her parents. Because she’s a witch, and because she’s been to the house before, she was able to see the house and bring her parents in.”

“How come… how come I didn’t realize?”

“I think you were too worried about your hair,” Harry said jokingly as he came forward and ruffled Draco’s hair. 

Draco nodded slowly before glancing back up. “Dobby could bring them, right? He said he’s been reading a lot lately to help Hermione with a project, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Ron grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. “That’d be cool, actually.”

*

One night after dinner, Draco and Harry wandered off to watch TV while Dumbledore talked with Sirius and Remus. He had come over several times over the summer, and he always insisted that they don’t speak about anything of consequence. 

“Albus, you owe him at least that much!” Sirius said quietly, but Harry and Draco could hear the passion in his voice. They both rose from the couches quietly and tiptoed until they were just outside the door and listened for Dumbledore’s response. 

Dumbledore sighed loudly. “I believe you’re right, Sirius. I was hoping to wait another year, to give him that much at least, but it appears that Voldemort has other plans.”

The door opened suddenly and Draco and Harry were met with Remus’ kind eyes. “Eavesdropping, lads?”

“You can let them both in, Remus,” Dumbledore said with another sigh. Harry and Draco both sat at the kitchen table and tried not to look as excited as they felt. “Have a seat, you two. Harry, can I presume that whatever I tell you will be shared with Draco?” Harry nodded firmly and Dumbledore sighed again. “Alright, then you can both stay, although Draco, there are some things that I will only tell Harry because they’re… not Order secrets so much as personal information I’ve learned about him. He can choose what and how to share then, but the things that are public information can be for both of you.”

Draco nodded and exchanged glances with Harry. 

*

“Dobby that’s so exciting!” Hermione exclaimed as she stepped into the kitchen. She and Dobby were often in mid-conversation when Dobby brought her to Sirius and Remus’ house, and Draco had quickly gotten used to being a bit confused until they clued him in. 

“Good morning,” Draco said with a grin as he hung up the dish towel.

“Good morning Draco!” Dobby rushed over and hugged Draco’s legs before turning back to Hermione. “I’d like it if you read the letter from the Union President in New York. He was quite interested in learning about you. And he has a lot of suggestions for us to consider.”

Hermione’s eyes lit up as she dropped the other envelopes she had been carrying onto the kitchen table. “Was he receptive to the plans?”

“Very much,” Dobby answered. “We spoke for hours. He’s going to be sending a few people over to help in the next few weeks.”

“You’re unionizing the elves?” Sirius asked from his seat at the table, dropping his book and staring openly at Hermione. 

“No,” Hermione scoffed. “I’m helping Dobby to unionize the elves. And it looks like the Union President in New York is going to help too. Do you know that elves have been free in America for over a hundred years? It’s shameful.”

Sirius blinked several times before glancing at Dobby. “You’re leading this?”

Dobby nodded several times. “Hermione and her father have been very helpful. There is so much to learn! I have been learning rhetorical strategies and public speaking strategies and the legal history of elves in different countries. At first, I was so happy to be a free elf, but recently I began to realize the wider scope of what I could do to help my people.”

Sirius grunted and Remus leaned forward to speak. “That sounds great, honestly. Can we do anything to help?”

“No, but thank you,” Dobby said as he rushed over to pat Sirius’ knee before climbing onto the seat next to him. “Professor Dumbledore wants you two to focus on Draco and Harry, and the Order.”

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances. “Albus is involved?”

Dobby nodded. “I went to him first. The Hogwarts elves are all already in agreement. They are happy because they still get to live and work at the castle, which is what most of them want, but they also get more privileges.”

“Once the other elves see that we don’t necessarily want to drastically change their lives,” Hermione explained as she sat down at the table, “we’re hoping that they will be more ready to consider it. Obviously, some of them will benefit greatly if they’re living with abusive families, but many of them are already at least moderately happy.”

“But everyone would like some things,” Dobby said. “Time to visit family is one of the most popular requests. The legal right to handle and save money. The option to reject requests if they are too taxing or dangerous. Those types of things.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Draco said. He patted Dobby gently on the back. “I’m so proud of you, Dobby, for making this happen.”

Dobby’s eyes welled up for a minute and he bit his lip. “Thank you, Draco! It means so much to me to hear you say that!”

*

“Where’s Harry?” Hermione asked one morning when she arrived with Dobby. 

“Dumbledore wanted him earlier than normal today, so he’s picking him up from his aunt and uncle’s,” Sirius said. 

“For what?”

Sirius shrugged, although he kept fidgeting. 

“Albus has been spending one afternoon a week with him for the past couple weeks. He’s been catching him up on a lot of the Order secrets,” Remus explained as he handed Sirius a cup of tea. “He’s been taking Harry to visit a few locations that are… important to his history.”

“Last week he took Harry to Godric’s Hollow,” Sirius said with a deep sigh. “I don’t know what he thinks Harry will get out of that, other than seeing where… where…” He closed his eyes and Remus finished the sentence.

“James and Lily lived in Godric’s Hollow when they were killed.”

“Oh,” Hermione breathed out, turning to look at Draco. 

“I didn’t realize they lived there,” Draco said softly. “That’s one of the biggest wizarding villages in England.”

Remus sighed and nodded. “It was James’ parents house. When they moved here, they said if they couldn’t be surrounded by other Pakistani people, they wanted to be surrounded by wizards.”

“That’s where Godric Gryffindor was born too,” Hermione said. “Maybe they’re looking for his artifact.”

“No, remember, his sword is hanging in Dumbledore’s office,” Draco said. When everyone turned to look at him with surprised expressions he laughed. “What? I noticed it when we went there last year. It’s a giant silver sword with these two rubies in the hilt. It’s a little hard to not notice.”

“Oh, of course,” Hermione responded with a small frown. “How did I forget about that?”

Draco shrugged. “Dumbledore has about ten thousand things in his office. I’m sure you noticed some things that I didn’t.”

*

“You’re sure this is safe?” Hermione asked hesitantly as Draco held her hand and guided her out onto the roof.

“It is,” Draco promised. “Both Sirius and Remus confirmed it.”

She eyed the ledge warily but Draco spread the blanket out and the both settled down. “I wouldn’t ask you to dance up here, but it’s nice and cool, and even if you happen to fall off, which I won’t let happen, you wouldn’t hurt yourself much at all. I promise. Harry and I both jumped off to be sure.” Hermione stared at him in shock for a moment before he laughed. “I’m joking! Come on! Do you really think Remus would let us do that?”

“Well, I had thought he’d be the voice of reason, until he was so ready to murder Wormtail with Sirius,” Hermione pointed out. “So there’s clearly something underneath that respectable appearance.”

“He’s still a Marauder,” Draco noted. “But they also promised that we’re completely protected by all of the house’s wards out here. Nobody can see us, so besides the height and everything, we’re magically protected as well.”

She nodded. “I’m glad they’re taking your protection seriously.”

Draco nodded and stared off in the distance for a minute before turning back to Hermione. “I want to tell you something… that I should have told you a long time ago. And I’ll understand if you’re mad at me.”

Hermione blinked. “What is it, Draco?”

“I, um, in third year, Harry and I, I mean, I… kissed Harry. I’m really sorry we never told you, but I was kind of scared, because I didn’t know how you felt about me then and I didn’t want to scare--”

“Draco, hush,” Hermione said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “It’s fine. Was it when you helped Harry decide to ask Cedric to the dance?”

“How did you…?”

Hermione grinned. “I know he talked to you before asking Cedric, and I know you wouldn’t have done it after the dance, so that leaves a relatively small window.”

“You’re not mad?”

“No. Why would I be?”

Draco shrugged. “I don’t know. Because… because I kissed him? I know we hadn’t… talked about our feelings at that point yet… but… I know I definitely liked you and I felt kind of guilty for kissing him when I knew I liked you.”

“Why did you do it then?”

Draco snorted. “He said he wasn’t sure if he was bi… so… my dumb-ass mind decided the best way to help him figure it out was to kiss him.”

“That must have been some kiss then,” Hermione pointed out.

Draco barked a laugh before clapping a hand over his mouth. “I was confused, at the time,” he said quietly after a moment. “Because he wasn’t sure… and I feel like I’ve kind of always known that I’m attracted to all different people. So…. when he said he wasn’t sure, I figured he’d need some more kind of… hands-on approach.”

As he spoke, Hermione had looked down to stare at their joined hands. After a moment of silence, Draco squeezed her fingers. “Hey… did I lose you there?”

“No,” Hermione said quickly, looking up and smiling. “I’m good.”

Draco lifted his free hand so he could trail a finger along Hermione’s jawline. “What’s up? I thought you’d be mad about the kiss… but… you seemed fine until just a second ago.”

“Did you really always know?”

Draco blinked. “Know what?”

“That you’re attracted to… guys and girls?”

“Oh… yea, pretty much. I honestly didn’t even realize that it wasn’t… I didn’t realize that most folks are only attracted to the opposite gender until we started at Hogwarts.”

Hermione grinned faintly. “You’re so sweet.”

“But… why? What’s wrong?” 

“I… I’ve never felt about anyone… the way I feel about you,” Hermione whispered. She looked up into his eyes. “I… I want to kiss you and… and... everything… but I’ve never wanted to do that with anyone else before.”

“Oh,” Draco said softly and blinked a few times.

“Yea,” Hermione replied softly. They stared at each other for a few heartbeats before Hermione shifted closer. “I guess everyone is different, right?”

“Yea,” Draco said as he pulled Hermione closer so she could rest her head on his shoulder. “But you are… into me, though, right?”

“I am,” Hermione laughed softly. “And you’re only into me, right?”

“I am,” Draco said as he pressed a kiss to Hermione’s forehead. “Wildly into you, by the way.”

“Then nothing else matters,” Hermione said resolutely. 

*

Draco sighed as he put his book down. Hermione had loaned it to him while talking about what a riveting recounting of history it was. He didn’t entirely agree with her… but the eight hundred page book had still managed to hold his attention, so it wasn’t entirely bad. He found that he had known just enough history and geography from his wizarding studies that he was able to see some of the overlap with the muggle history of the United Kingdom, and he found some of the particulars quite distressing. He had, of course, known that the English had been responsible for quite a few terrible things in the country’s past, but he had no idea about the scope. 

The next book he planned to read, another history that Hermione gave him, was written by a muggle-born wizard, and it detailed the different ways that wizards had impacted muggle history. 

He didn’t have much else to do, and he could admit that the topic was overall interesting. 

Sirius walked into the living room and sighed as he looked out the window. He turned to look at Draco, “You’ve finished your book?”

Draco nodded with a tight smile before picking up his next book and waving it slightly. “And ready to start the next one.”

Remus chuckled softly from his seat in the armchair. “Sirius, you could try reading as well.”

“I wouldn’t be able to sit still long enough to read a page,” he retorted before pacing back into the kitchen. “You two can go to sleep, though, if you’d like,” he called from the kitchen. “I don’t mind waiting up for Harry alone.”

Remus snorted as he made eye contact with Draco. He rose from his chair and met Sirius in the kitchen doorway, where he placed both hands along Sirius’ face. “That’s not going to happen, love. We’re just as worried, and we’re going to stay up together.”

“But… there’s no reason for you both to be tired in the morning,” Sirius protested.

“We don’t have anything to do tomorrow,” Draco pointed out. He rose from the couch and walked over so he could wrap one arm around both men. “We’re worried, and we’re going to wait together. And when Harry gets back, he’ll tell us all about what happened. Then we’ll all sleep until afternoon.”

“When did you get so wise?” Sirius asked wryly as he dropped his head onto Remus’ shoulder. Draco grinned and shrugged, before leaning his head against Remus’ other shoulder. 

They stood like that for a moment before Remus sighed. “I’ll go put on some tea.”

An hour later, they’ve gone through multiple cups of tea, as well as a tin of biscuits. Sirius keeps getting up to pace around the house in between cups of tea, and Draco can’t tell what band is playing anymore, since it has changed so many times.

Remus and Draco’s heads shoot up when they hear the faintest sound on the kitchen doorstep and Remus stands quickly and speaks quietly, “Padfoot.”

Sirius enters the room a second later just in time to watch as Dumbledore opens the door and guides Harry in. They’re both covered, from head to foot, in dark powder or ash, Draco can’t tell, but they’re both also grinning widely and breathing heavily.

Sirius grabs Harry and pulls him in for a tight hug before pulling back to look at the powder now covering both of them. “What happened?”

Dumbledore tuts softly as he looks down at himself. “How thoughtless. I should have cleaned us up before coming, but I was preoccupied…” he trails off and stares out the back door for a moment before focusing on the room again. He waved his wand first at Harry and Sirius, and then at himself, causing all of the black powder to vanish. “Harry?”

Harry grins up at Dumbledore and holds open his hand, a large gold ring sitting in his pale palm. Dumbledore nodded several times as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. He carefully wrapped it around the ring and then dropped it into a leather pouch. 

“You were right about the ring then,” Remus remarked as he placed cups of tea on the table and gestured for Harry and Dumbledore to sit. “There weren’t any significant problems?”

Harry laughed as he sat down, “The building collapsed around us.” 

“And exploded with Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder,” Dumbledore added mildly as he sipped his tea.

“Oh and the Devil’s Snare,” Harry added with a grin. 

“Anything else?” Draco asked with a choked off laugh.

“Well, the ring is cursed,” Dumbledore added, glancing at Draco over the tops of his glasses, “but we managed to avoid that.”

“Of course,” Sirius said in a choked voice as he rubbed at his forehead with one hand. “Albus--”

Dumbledore reached his hand out and covered Sirius’ hand. “Sirius, Harry was safe the whole time. I promised you that I would look out for him.”

Sirius grimaced for a second before exhaling through his nose. “It’s a lot easier to be the one out there taking risks than it is sitting at home and waiting.”

Dumbledore nodded. “It always is.”

*

“Sirius did you have Professor Slughorn when you were in school?”

Sirius looked up and nodded. “Is that where you went with Albus tonight? To recruit him?”

Harry nodded.

“That’s odd,” Remus mused from his spot on the couch next to Sirius. “I wonder what Severus will be doing.”

“What do you mean?” Draco asked, leaning forward.

“Slughorn teaches Potions,” Remus explained. 

The room fell into silence for a moment while Harry and Draco thought about the implications. 

“Albus didn’t explain anything?” Remus asked after another moment.

Sirius snorted and Harry laughed, “He didn’t even tell me that he wanted Slughorn to teach at Hogwarts. I didn’t figure out what was happening until after he agreed.”

“Oh, I see,” Sirius said with a dawning look of realization, “you were bait.”

“What?” Harry and Draco asked simultaneously as Remus suddenly laughed.

“Oh that’s dirty,” Remus said as he looked back at Harry. “Slughorn likes to collect students who he thinks will become important or successful. He calls it the Slug Club. He likes to introduce people so they can… network. And then when they become successful, he expects them to express their gratitude some way, with presents or trinkets…”

“Like season passes to quidditch games or mentions in the Prophet or something like that,” Sirius added. 

“My dad was one of his favorites,” Draco said softly, “when he was in Hogwarts. He’d always send him really elaborate gifts for Christmas and his birthday. It’s in the spring sometime.”

Sirius nodded. “Your mom was too, Harry.”

“She was? But… she wasn’t…” Harry glanced at Draco.

“Lucius was the sole heir of one of the richest and most powerful pureblood families,” Sirius nodded. “But Harry, your mother was one of the most gifted potions students any of us had ever seen.” Sirius chuckled as he looked down at his hands. “He vetted your father and I, because of our pure-blood status and all, but dismissed us as immature trouble-makers pretty quickly--”

“He was a good judge of character,” Remus interrupted with a snort.

Sirius glared, although there was no heat in his expression, “But he latched onto Lily. Wouldn’t stop singing her praise. It drove Snape mad, because he always wanted to be the best at Potions.”

“Oh,” Harry blinked several times as he processed the new information. “So Slughorn is going to want me too?”

“Without a doubt,” Sirius said with a smirk. 

“Great,” Harry said as he slouched down in the chair. He glanced at Draco. “Think you’ll get dragged into this with me?”

Draco shrugged. “Who knows? The Malfoy name is currently in the gutter… so maybe not. But I’m also currently the only heir for two major pureblood families… so maybe yes.”

“Well, you boys will only have to live in suspense for a few more days. He likes to scout people early,” Remus said with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was just chock full of things... I imagine that with Sirius & Remus being together and focusing on providing a supportive and loving home for Draco & Harry helps to bring other members of the Order together too, so it's a big, happy family. Because that's what they also deserve. 
> 
> I added the demi-sexual Hermione tag, even though she doesn't use that word... but that's how I'm headcannoning her. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know if I've handled anything wrong with it, or if I should tag it differently. 
> 
> Also, if you're counting, Harry has helped Dumbledore collect 3 horcruxes so far... even though he's not yet entirely sure what he's doing (they're getting to that - Dumbledore promised to tell Harry things... but he's still going to be slow and draw things out). And also, because Dumbledore was focusing on keeping Harry safe while getting the ring, he didn't get cursed by it... so he ISN'T currently dying (also, he's still 100% an asshole, and as much as Sirius and Remus are holding him more accountable, he's still a dick who is holding his cards close to his chest). Also, just because he isn't currently dying doesn't mean he's going to make it out of the war in one piece... because fuck him lol


	13. Part 1: Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)

“Ron? What are you doing?” 

Hermione and Draco were patrolling the train as part of their initial prefect duties and were staring dumbfounded at Ron as he sat surrounded by younger Hufflepuffs. 

“Hey Hermione,” Ron grinned widely, although there was a tightness around his eyes that betrayed his nerves. “I’m working.”

“Are those Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes?” 

“They are,” Ron said as he held up a piece of parchment. “But I’m only demonstrating! Not testing anything out. And look, I’ve got order forms!”

“Oh,” Draco said with dawning realization. “Fred and George have you handling Hogwarts’ order forms?”

Ron nodded happily and packed up the various goods that were sprawled around him. “I’m leaving an order form for each of you. Remember, you can owl them yourselves, but if you give them to me, you get an extra free sample.”

The Hufflepuffs all grinned and nodded as they began studying the order forms. Ron rose up and gently pushed Draco and Hermione into the hallway before closing the door behind him. 

“Fred and George didn’t want to miss out on the market they’d established in Hogwarts,” Ron explained softly. “A lot of the older students know and trust their products, and they recruited me to help gain the loyalty of the younger groups of students.”

“And you won’t be testing any of the products?” Hermione demanded.

Ron shook his head fervently. “I swear, all I’m doing is demonstrating the products and handing out order forms.” He glanced at Draco and grinned slightly before adding, “And I’m getting a 5% commission from each Hogwarts sale.”

“Five?” Draco asked. “You should’ve pushed for ten.” 

“I tried,” Ron said ruefully. “They said I need to prove myself first. I’m hoping they’ll bump it up to ten by Christmas. That’s why I’m starting now, you know, so I get a strong start.”

“That’s a good idea,” Draco said. “Have you gone into any of the Slytherin cabins yet?” When Ron shook his head, Draco slid an arm over his shoulder, “Well, isn’t it lucky that you’re such good friends with the Slytherin prefect?”

Hermione laughed softly and shoved gently at both of their backs, “I’m going to keep patrolling. Draco, don’t abuse your power to help Ron out.”

“Of course I wouldn’t!” Draco gasped dramatically. “I’m only going to let them know that I would appreciate it if they hear my friend out.”

“You know,” Ron laughed, “I’m not sure I’ve ever quite appreciated you enough, Malfoy.”

*

Draco glanced up from his potions book when Slughorn loudly shouted, “Harry m’boy! Welcome! Come in! What’s this? A note from Professor McGonnagal?”

While Slughorn silently read, Harry’s eyes wandered across the class. Draco raised his eyebrows and gestured at the two empty cauldron’s on his left. He and Hermione had claimed two of the cauldrons in the front row, and nobody had opted to sit with them. He hadn’t much cared either way earlier, but now he was grateful for the opportunity. 

“Well, welcome to class, Harry and Ronald!” Slughorn said loudly once he finished reading the note. “The two of you can sit…” he paused when he saw that the only two empty seats in the class were next to Draco. 

“We’ll sit in the front row,” Harry said confidently as he started moving forward. “Draco’s our mate.”

“I’m so sorry, Professor,” Ron said awkwardly. “We don’t have any supplies though. Professor McGonnagal said we can owl home and… we’ll get them delivered, but…”

Slughorn waved at the supply closet, “I’m sure there are extras in there. Go look.” He didn’t take his eyes off Harry as he sat down next to Draco.

Draco smirked and pushed his book, tools, and supplies slightly to his left. “We can share. Sirius paid for most of it anyway, so it’s as much yours as it is mine.”

Harry snorted and grinned. “Thanks.”

Slughorn continued to stare at the pair for a moment before collecting himself and gesturing at the four cauldrons at the front of the room and inquiring if anyone knew what was in them. 

Draco raised his hand a few times, and smiled indulgently at Hermione when she practically shot out of her chair with the answer each time. He enjoyed Slughorn’s growing look of excitement at Hermione’s obvious brilliance. 

Once Hermione revealed that she was Muggle-born, Slughorn’s face split into the widest grin and he glanced past Draco at Harry. “Oho! _‘One of my best friends is Muggle-born and she’s the best in our year!’_ I’m assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?”

“Yes, sir,” Harry replied with a grin. 

“Wait… that means…” Slughorn’s eyes bore into Draco’s for a few seconds before glancing over to Ron and then snapping back to Harry. “I’m glad that there are enough supplies for all of you. Now, let’s get started!”

“Sir? What’s in the last cauldron?”

Slughorn clapped his hands together and grinned broadly as he turned to Hermione. While Slughorn continued to explain their lesson for the day, Draco squeezed Hermione’s hand under the desk. He spoke under his breath, “I can’t imagine my life getting any luckier than it has been the past few weeks.”

“Oh,” Harry said just as softly, “so you won’t be trying to win?”

“Of course I will,” Draco scoffed. “I can’t just hand it to Hermione.”

Hermione snorted. “I’ve always maintained that you’re better at brewing potions than I am, Draco.”

“We’ll see,” Draco said with a grin. He glanced up and noticed that Slughorn was watching their group. He nodded slightly as he leaned forward to focus on the task at hand. 

*

“Time’s up!” Slughorn called nearly an hour later as Draco gave his potion one last, half-hearted stir. He wiped sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and glanced to each side again. Ron had thrown his wand down several minutes ago and given up on the black sludge that clogged the bottom of his cauldron. Harry was laughing helplessly at the dark purple liquid that bubbled in his cauldron, and Hermione’s potion was a nearly-identical lavender color as Draco’s was, although his potion seemed to be lightening incrementally by the second. 

“Very impressive,” Slughorn hummed as he walked past Draco and Hermione. He stopped at the end of the table and glanced back at Draco’s potion. “It’s still lightening?”

“I stirred it the second you called time,” Draco explained. “I think it’s still swirling.”

“Very interesting. You gave it a counterclockwise swirl?”

Draco pursed his lips and nodded. “Professor Snape once told me that strategy can have surprising effects. I figured… my potion wasn’t the right color anyway… so it probably wouldn’t hurt.”

*

“Draco! Congratulations on winning the Felix Felicis! That’s a dreadfully difficult potion to brew, not to mention that the ingredients are extremely expensive and hard to come by,” Sirius spoke with a wide grin that Draco couldn’t help but reflect.

“Thanks! I think I only beat Hermione because I gave the potion a counterclockwise stir at the last second. It was kind of a hail Mary at that point.”

“That’s smart,” Remus said. “That sounds like the type of thing that Severus would do. He was always going against the directions. Slughorn would scold him so much until he potion ended up being perfect and taking half the time, or something like that.”

“Thanks,” Draco replied. He was surprised, honestly, because Sirius and Remus rarely spoke about when they were in Hogwarts with Snape. He knew very little about the man’s past, even though he knew quite a lot about the Marauders after hearing their stories all summer long.

“Harry, I’m so glad that Slughorn was happy to have you in the class,” Remus said suddenly, as if he had just remembered the owled note from Harry. “I always told Severus that he was being too harsh with his expectations for NEWT-level classes.”

“We’ll pop over to Diagon Alley in just a few minutes and pick up everything you need, alright?” Sirius said with a grin. “It’ll all be delivered tomorrow morning.”

“Ron, do you want us to pick things up for you too? Just to save your mother or father the trip?”

Ron grinned, “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind talking to Fred or George while you’re there, I think they’ll handle it.”

“Really?” Sirius asked, the surprise evident on his face. 

“Yea,” Ron answered. “I’ve sold a whole bunch of product for them already, and I figure they could take the rest out of my wages. I’m pretty sure they won’t complain too much.”

“That seems reasonable,” Remus replied. “We’ll talk to them, and then figure out how to have everything sent up to you guys as soon as possible.”

“Thanks,” Harry answered. 

“So,” Sirius asked, “has Slughorn tried to collect anyone else yet?”

Draco snorted, “So far, Harry has been the only lucky one, although he was staring quite adoringly at Hermione when she answered all of his questions correctly. If I didn’t know of his habit of collecting students with potential, I would have been quite unsettled.”

*

“Draco? Would you help me?”

Draco looked up from the essay he was writing and saw that Hermione was standing between two shelves, down some way from the table they were sharing. 

He rose, “What’s up, Hermione? I thought you had all the sources you needed to finish this essay.”

“I do,” she replied softly as he approached her. “I’m looking for something for a different subject.”

“Oh,” Draco whispered as he stepped close to her and could resist wrapping a hand around her waist. “What can I help with?”

Her arms wrapped around his back and pulled him close. “Madam Pince did her rounds two minutes ago. That means we have over ten minutes before she comes back again, plus you know she skips the prefect wing of the library sometimes.”

“My little witch, did you pull me into the stacks to seduce me?”

“Maybe,” Hermione answered with a grin as she tilted her head up towards Draco’s. “Just a little. You don’t mind, do you?”

He tightened his arms around her waist. “Not in the slightest. If it weren’t for all of our classes and homework and responsibilities, I’d devote all of my waking moments to doing this.”

Draco knew that someday they’d be able to openly kiss each other without caring who saw, but for now, a few minutes in between bookshelves with Hermione was heaven.

*

“Harry, m’boy, would you and Mr. Malfoy stay after class for a moment?”

“What? Oh, uh, of course,” Harry replied as he glanced sideways at Draco, who shrugged.

Harry and Ron whispered quickly and when Slughorn finally dismissed class, Ron rushed toward the group of Slytherins exiting the class, “Hey Zabini,” Ron said with a wide grin. “You decide what you want to order yet?”

Hermione kissed Draco on the cheek, “I’ll see you in the library after lunch, right?”

“Of course,” he responded as he squeezed her fingers. He watched as she walked out of the room and turned to give a wave before stepping into the hallway. 

“Ah, young love,” Slughorn sighed. 

Draco turned and exchanged glances with Harry, who took his turn to shrug. 

“Sir?” Harry asked. “You wanted to talk with us?”

Slughorn clapped. “Yes, yes, of course. Would you like some tea?”

“Um… alright?”

“Sandwich, Harry?” Slughorn pushed a plate of finger sandwiches toward Harry, who grinned awkwardly and took one. 

“So, boys, I’ve been asking a few questions here and there, and I wanted to inquire with you before going any further.” Slughorn grinned widely and looked between Draco and Harry several times.

“Um… ok… sir,” Harry said finally before taking a bite of his sandwich.

Draco sipped his tea and glanced at Harry again before slowly asking, “Can we… help you with something, sir?”

“Yes!” Slughorn clapped his hands finally and leaned forward in his seat. “I have to admit, I was quite surprised to see the two of you voluntarily sitting next to each other and sharing your tools so peacefully.” Harry and Draco exchanged glances but remained silent. “You see, I’ve grown accustomed, over the years, to seeing a lot of animosity between my house and the other three.” At Harry’s look of confusion, Slughorn explained, “I myself was a Slytherin, and I was the head of Slytherin House before Professor Snape.” He sighed dramatically. “I know that Slytherin doesn’t only turn out Dark Wizards, obviously, but so many people seem to have trouble keeping that in mind…”

Slughorn trailed off and stared out the window. Draco and Harry exchanged glances again and Draco tried to hide his grin when Harry widened his eyes and shrugged. 

“Yes, sir,” Draco said eventually.

“But you two! You’re friends!” Slughorn said with enthusiasm as he turned back to the pair. “The Boy Who Lived! Friends with a Malfoy! One of the most traditional pure-blood families in England!”

“Well, yes,” Harry said. “We’ve been friends for years now.”

“But, Draco, m’boy, I heard the sad news about your parents’ arrest recently. That was quite surprising.”

Draco’s eyebrows shot up. So that’s where Slughorn was going. “Well, yes, sir, but luckily my cousin Sirius was able to look after me.”

“Look after? I heard he claimed you as his heir.”

Draco nodded.

“And you lived with him over the summer?”

Draco nodded. 

“With Harry?”

“Well I live with my Aunt and Uncle,” Harry explained. “But Sirius chose his neighborhood because it’s near them, so I spent most of my days with them.”

“But the three of you are quite close?”

Draco nodded and hesitated before adding, “And Remus, too.”

“Remus Lupin?” Draco nodded. “Oh… I wasn’t sure that the two of them were… still together. Together again?” Draco shrugged. “But that means that Draco, you’re the heirs for both the Malfoy and Black families now?”

“I am,” Draco answered dryly. 

“And you’re close friends with Harry?”

“I am.”

“And you’re dating Hermione Granger, who is one of the most exemplary students in your year?”

“I am.”

“That is all quite interesting, you know.”

*

“What is this? So many of you arrived together? Are you, perhaps, all already friends? What good fortune! Come in, come in!”

Draco chuckled and squeezed Hermione’s hand as they filed into Slughorn’s office for their first official dinner with him. They had talked to Remus and Sirius as soon as they got the invitations, and they had both acknowledged that dinners seemed to be Slughorn’s preferred form of interactions with his “Slug Club.” 

“So, I know about the friendship between Harry and Draco,” Slughorn said as he gestured for everyone to find a seat, “but please, please! Tell me about the rest of you! How is it that most of the Gryffindors and Slytherins I invited ended up showing up together?”

Harry shrugged. “Well, Hermione and Draco have been dating for a while now. And we’ve all been friends with Ginny forever, because she’s…” Harry floundered and Ginny just stared at him and blinked several times while waiting to see how he would finish the sentence. My boyfriend’s little sister? One of my best friend’s little sisters? Neither of those would be particularly helpful, since Slughorn didn’t know who Fred was, and he had yet to get Ron’s name right. 

“Family friends,” Ginny finally said, apparently having grown tired of Harry’s silence. “Draco and I are apparently also second cousins or something like that.”

“And Blaise,” Harry said, trying to resume the explanations. “We’ve been friends with Blaise since…” he froze again, apparently suddenly remembering the study groups Blaise had organized to help Cedric and him.

“It’s alright, mate,” Blaise murmured as he stepped forward and slid an arm around Harry’s shoulders. “I’ve been friends with the Golden Gang since third year, sir. It’s been an honor to learn alongside the famous Harry Potter, but I like to think I’ve helped him along the way too.”

“You certainly have,” Harry said under his breath. 

“Delightful!” Slughorn clapped his hands together. “And do the four of you know Cormac McClaggen? I’m sure the Gryffindors do, at least, but since you didn’t come together, perhaps not. Come, let me introduce you all! And we can’t forget about the divine Melinda Bobbin! Yes, that’s right Ms. Weasley, Bobbin just like the apothecaries!”

*

“Yes, Draco? What is it?” Snape glanced around the classroom, seemingly realizing that Draco was one of the last students left in the room, and he was the only one who wasn’t quickly shoving things into their bags and trying to leave.

Draco pursed his lips and hesitated before speaking. He chose his words carefully so the last few students still in the room wouldn’t understand what he was truly saying. “Sir, I know that Harry isn’t… doing the remedial potions classes with you anymore, but I was actually hoping that I could continue my own sessions.”

“You do?”

Draco nodded and waved his wand at the classroom door after the last student left, _“Janus_.” He waited a few more seconds. “I think it’s a good idea if I continue to practice occlumency. But also… if it isn’t an inconvenience… I was hoping you would actually teach me some higher level potions, particularly ones that relate to healing. I know we used that as an excuse last year… but I think I am actually interested in pursuing that.”

Snape snorted, “Why didn’t you go to Slughorn for that? I heard he’s adopted you into his Slug Club.”

Draco rubbed at the back of his neck. “He’s… too blatantly obvious about his admiration for my wealth. It’s unsettling. He flatters Harry constantly, and doesn’t seem to notice or care how uncomfortable it makes him, and he does the same thing to almost everyone. He’s a good teacher… but… he’s unfocused.”

“You know he was my Potions professor, right? He’s more than qualified to teach you the more advanced skills you seek.”

“Yes,” Draco said quickly, “but… I like your teaching style better.”

Snape snorted again. “Fine,” he responded after a moment. “We’ll meet on Thursday nights, alright? 

*

“Hey Harry,” Ginny said as she approached the group of friends as they studied in the library. Luna and Neville were flanking her, although they seemed content to stand silently while she continued speaking. “Can we start up DA sessions soon?”

“But… we don’t really need to, since Snape is teaching us actual defensive magic,” Harry pointed out. “As much as I don’t like the git, he’s doing a better job than I did last year.”

Draco snorted, “You’re as good at praising him as he is at praising you.”

Harry glared, even though there wasn’t any actual heat to it. 

“But… but I need all the help I can get,” Neville pointed out, a hint of a whine in his voice. “Snape clearly doesn’t even want me in the class, but you helped me get an OWL last year, so I qualified for the class, even though he clearly thinks I’m incompetent.”

“Maybe it doesn’t have to be full DA sessions,” Hermione pointed out softly, “but we had plenty of non-teaching meetings last year. We could just do more of those. Study or practice for the people who want that, and just hang out for the rest of the ones who don’t.”

“Plus,” Luna said while staring at the ceiling above all of them, “I liked it. It was like having friends.”

“Luna,” Ginna said patiently. “We are your friends.”

“That’s what I said,” Luna replied with a faint grin. 

Ron rolled his eyes while Neville said, “What do you say, Harry? Can we do it?”

“Yea, sure,” Harry replied. “It’d be nice to have a place we can all hang out together anyway.”

“You can say that again,” Draco groaned as he squeezed Hermione’s shoulders and looked down at her, “I know that we see each other every day, but it’s always in classes and things. I miss… just spending time with you. 

“Mmm,” Hermione hummed her agreement. “I’m honestly surprised that there isn’t a place for students to hang out that isn’t their House Common Rooms. When the weather is nice, there’s the courtyards and the lawns, but the weather is too cold most of the year.”

“Yea, it really discourages inter-house friendships,” Ginny pointed out. “You’d think Dumbledore would want to encourage us all to be friends instead of separating us like this.”

“Maybe I’ll ask him about it on Thursday when we meet,” Harry mused.

Neville’s eyes were almost as wide as saucers as he spoke. “You… you’re going to… just… ask him about that?”

Harry shrugged. “Why not? I can’t promise that it’ll change anything… or that he’ll even give me a straight explanation about it, but it’s worth a try.”

*

Hermione squeezed closer to Draco as Harry dropped onto the couch beside her. They didn’t all quite fit, what with Ron and Ginny squeezed on Harry’s other side, but they’d make it work. 

“Hi Sirius,” everyone said as his face came into focus on the mirror.

“Hi folks! I see we’ve got the whole group tonight!”

“The DA is hanging out,” Ginny explained, leaning over Ron’s chest to get closer to the mirror. “We’re more of a study group now, but it’s fun to hang out with everyone.”

“Well, we’ve got some extra guests tonight too,” Remus said as he took the mirror and turned it. 

“Mom?” Hermione gasped. “Dad?”

“Hi, sweetheart,” Chioma said with a grin. “We came over for dinner, and Sirius and Remus were explaining this amazing bit of magic that lets you all see each other while you talk.”

“This is amazing!” Jeremy said, moving closer so he was in view too. “It’s like a phone and a video camera in one!”

“Pull it back a little,” Sirius said from out of the picture, “and then they can see you both better.”

The mirror adjusted and Hermione could see both her parents' faces at the same time. 

“So honey, I know you’ve sent us owls, but tell us all about how you’ve been doing! We’re just so happy to see you,” Chioma said with a grin.

“Oh, nothing is new, I promise,” Hermione laughed out as she wiped tears from her eyes. “I’m just so glad to see you! And you had dinner with Sirius and Remus! I’m so glad you guys are still having dinner together!”

“Well, of course,” Jeremy said with a chuckle. “We’re friends now. Plus, it’s particularly nice to have people to talk to who actually understand this whole magic thing. It… helps us feel closer to you.”

“Oh, Dad,” Hermione whispered. “I miss you both so much.”

*

“I don’t get it though,” Ron protested. “Why are you learning about Voldemort’s past? How is that going to help?”

Harry shrugged. “Dumbledore thinks if I understand him more, that’ll help.”

“Well, I mean, after you saw that memory of Voldemort getting ready to steal Slytherin’s locket and Hufflepuff’s cup, it helps us understand why Dumbledore has been looking for Founder’s artifacts. For whatever reason, Voldemort wants them.”

“It’s probably because this is the first place he felt like he belonged,” Harry said with a shrug.

Draco, Ron, and Hermione all exchanged looks. 

“I know,” Harry groaned. “I haven’t missed the fact that Tom Riddle and I share a lot of things in common. It certainly doesn’t make me happy, but I’m aware of it.”

“You’re nothing like him though, Harry,” Hermione said, reaching over to squeeze his arm. 

Harry smiled, although it looked like it took effort. “Well, one distinct difference is that he was seemingly a genius at all of his classes, and I certainly am not.”

“But hey, Snape actually said he was impressed by you this week,” Draco said. “That’s huge!”

Harry snorted and crossed his arms. “He’s not a bad DADA professor either… I’m glad we had the DA last year so none of us are too rusty, but there was definitely a lot that I hadn’t thought to cover, even with all of Remus’ books.”

“And you’re genuinely getting better at Transfiguration,” Hermione pointed out gently. “You’re quite skilled at it.”

“Hmm,” Harry assented. “I don’t know what I’d be doing if I weren’t sitting next to you in Potions, Draco. I think a third of what I do each class is just trying to mimic you.”

“As long as you don’t make anything explode, I’m sure that Slughorn will still sing your praises.”

“Honestly,” Ron said with a snort, “Though I think Harry could blow up his cauldron and Slughorn would still be enamored.”

Harry threw his quill at Ron. “You’re just jealous that you don’t get to sit next to Draco yourself.”

Ron threw the quill back, “I’m doing well enough on my own, thank you very much.”

*

“You’ll go with me, right?” Draco asked as he and Hermione studied the invitations to Slughorn’s Christmas event in their hands.

“Of course!” Hermione grinned brilliantly up at him. “You… you aren’t worried about your parents or any repercussions, though?”

He shrugged and shook his head as he pulled her closer to him, “They can’t do anything to hurt either of us now.”

“I mean, they could disown you, right?” Ron asked from where he was sitting on the couch.

Draco shrugged as he glanced over Hermione’s shoulder at Ron. “Yea, but I don’t think they would, no matter how mad they might be.”

“Why?” Harry asked.

Drack chuckled, “Because if they do, the Malfoy estate could be contended. Aunt Bellatrix could claim it, but so could Tonks’ mum. And honestly, Sirius could as well, and since the Malfoy line is traditionally passed down through the male line, he might actually have a claim, even though he’s only related through my mother. And if Sirius gets it, then it’s coming straight back to me anyway. And if Aunt Meda gets it, since she’s, you know, not a convicted Death Eater, then a muggle-born would have partial ownership of the manor, which has never happened before in the history of the Malfoy family. They wouldn’t risk it.”

“Even… even though they’re not…” Ron spoke slowly, seemingly looking for the right words.

“Even though they’re not quite as bigoted and evil as the rest of the Death Eaters?” Draco suggested dryly. “They still care about their name and keeping up appearances.” He laughed bitterly, “I’m actually pretty sure that my father is trying to tell people that all of this is actually his plan.”

“What?” Harry asked. “How could it be his plan?”

“They were predicting you’d inherit the Black fortune,” Hermione guessed with a snort. “But when Sirius got his name cleared, you potentially lost that opportunity. Now though, you’ve been officially named the Black heir.”

“I’m sure he’s saying that me living with Sirius is just a condition, like, a willing sacrifice that my parents are making just in order to consolidate two of the oldest pure-blood families.” Draco folded his arms and scowled.

“That… actually makes sense,” Harry said. 

Draco shrugged. “Of course, I could be wrong. That’s just the angle I think he’s taking, and it’s part of why I don’t think he fought Sirius claiming me.”

“But… but your mother, in her letter--” Hermione started and Draco nodded and waved his hand vaguely before reaching out to lace their fingers together. 

“Yes, she’s happy that I’m safe from the Dark Lord, and I’m pretty sure that my father feels the same way, but that doesn’t mean that’s their only feeling or motivation on the matter.”

“How come you still call him that?” Ron asked as he leaned back and crossed his arms.

Draco blinked several times. “Who?”

“Voldemort,” Ron said. “I mean, I used to always call him You-Know-Who, but Harry always says Voldemort, so I’ve started saying it too.”

“Dumbledore does always say that fear of the name increases fear of the man himself,” Harry said with a shrug.

“I… I don’t know,” Draco admitted. “I guess I didn’t really think about it. I guess… The Dark Lord isn’t a fear thing… it’s a respect thing, isn’t it? That’s just always how my parents referred to him.”

“That’s how Snape talks about him too,” Harry pointed out softly. “You can call him whatever you want, Draco. We know you don’t actually support him.”

“Yea, but…” Draco squinted. “I don’t want to address him out of respect. That’s not… that’s not the attitude I want to take… even if it’s unintentional.” He pursed his lips and exhaled slowly. “I can use his name. It’s Voldemort. I can call him Voldemort.”

*

“Ron, what do you say? Will you go to Slughorn’s party with me?” Harry bumped into Ron’s shoulder while the two of them watched pairs of students practicing spells.

“What? Why me?” Ron asked loudly, drawing the attention of several people. 

Harry blinked in surprise for several seconds. “Because I can’t bring my boyfriend!” Harry replied, his voice rising to match Ron’s tone as he focused entirely on Ron and ignored the looks they were getting from their friends. “And I don’t want to take anyone who might think it’s a date when it’s not. And because I thought you’d like to go, since you’re always complaining about not being invited by Slughorn yourself!” 

Ron looked taken aback. “Oh. That’s… thanks Harry. That’s really thoughtful.” 

Harry crossed his arms and frowned. “I can be thoughtful sometimes.”

Draco and Hermione exchanged glances behind Ron and Harry’s backs and pursed their lips before focusing on their spellwork again.

*

“So,” Sirius said slowly the next evening while they were talking, “do you want to spend Christmas at Hogwarts?”

Harry and Draco exchanged glances, “Can we come home with you?” Harry asked.

Draco nodded. “That’d be… nice. It’d be really nice. But if you’re busy or if you--”

“We’d love to have you,” Remus said quickly, interrupting Draco.

“You’ll come too, Harry?” Sirius asked.

“I never go to the Dursley’s for Christmas, so I’m definitely not going to start this year.”

“Perfect,” Sirius said, grinning widely. “We’ll start getting things ready right away.”

“Oh!” Hermione grinned and wrapped her arms around both Draco and Harry as they leaned close to the mirror. “Can we do something together? With both families?”

“We actually discussed that with your parents already, Hermione,” Sirius said. “We just weren’t sure if you all were going to come home, but we’ll call them tonight to work out the details.”

“Perfect!” Hermione said with a pleased sigh. 

Draco leaned back slightly so he could kiss her cheek. “This sounds like it’s going to be a great holiday.”

*

Blaise and Draco arrived in the Great Hall together. He took a fortifying breath as he gazed around, noting the curious glances coming from the students in the Dining Hall.

“Ah, good timing,” Blaise said while watching the stairs. 

Draco’s breath punched out of him as he watched Hermione descend the stairs. Her pale pink dress floated around her while she descended, and he watched as she laughed happily at something Luna said. 

Blaise held his arm out gallantly for Luna as the group stepped near them. She waved vaguely near his head before linking arms with him.

“Nargles?” Blaise asked with a chuckle. She nodded serenely, “And how was your day today?”

As Hermione stepped closer he gawked, “Is your necklace…?”

She grinned as she stroked her hand along it. “Blaise helped me pick it out,” she admitted. “Do you like it?”

The chain was simple, but instead of a pendant there was a small silver snake tangled around the chain. He was mesmerized while he stared at how the silver snake basically glowed against her dark skin. 

“You… you’re wearing it for me?”

She wrapped her arm around his and turned to stand beside him. “I’m aware that you’re making a statement, by attending this party with me. I’m claiming you as my own as well, just so you know.”

He shifted so he could press a kiss into her hairline. “What have I done to deserve you?”

She grinned and lifted her face so they could exchange kisses, “You asked me if I wasn’t buying a pet either.”

“Alright, folks, is everyone ready to go?” Harry asked, raising his voice slightly. He tugged on his collar slightly and shifted beside Ron. “I’d rather not have to explain to Slughorn why we’re late, of all things.”

“Lead the way, Golden Boy,” Blaise said with a wry grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be splitting the next couple chapters up because they're getting LONG, but the good news then would be that I'll be able to update more frequently...


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